Argentine superstar Lionel Messi bagged the 900th goal of his glittering career on Wednesday, scoring for Inter Miami in their CONCACAF Champions Cup clash with Nashville, AFP reported.
Messi, 38, needed just seven minutes to reach his milestone, coolly tucking away a low finish to give Miami a 1-0 lead in the regional club competition knockout game.
The strike took Messi's tally to 81 goals for Miami following his move to Major League Soccer (MLS) in 2023.
The Argentine World Cup winner's 900th goal came early in Miami's last-16 second leg tie with MLS rivals Nashville.
The eight-time Ballon D'Or winner previously scored 672 goals for Spanish giants Barcelona, 32 for France's Paris Saint-Germain, and a further 115 international goals for Argentina.
Messi's 900th goal comes some 21 years after his first goal in senior football, when he scored for Barcelona in a 2-0 win over Albacete in 2005 as a fresh-faced 17-year-old.
Messi, widely regarded as the greatest player in football history, still has some way to go before he catches his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo, the 41-year-old Portuguese superstar who is on 965 career goals.
Speaking ahead of Messi's 900th goal, Miami manager and former Argentina and Barcelona team-mate Javier Mascherano described the star's goals total as "insane."
"I haven't contributed much to him scoring goals, neither with assists nor now as a coach," Mascherano said.
"I've been lucky enough to see most, or many, of the goals he's scored, much closer than you all, and that's a privilege.
"The number we're talking about (900) is insane, and that's why Leo is a one of a kind."
bd-pratidin/GR
