Barcelona star Lionel Messi closes in on Pele international record

Lionel Messi has broken multiple records throughout his career for Barcelona but he is now closing in on an international record set by Pele.

Messi scored the only goal of the game as Argentina defeated Ecuador in their first match for the World Cup qualifiers for the 2022 tournament in Qatar.

That was his 71st goal for his nation, which brings him to within six goals of Brazilian legend Pele – who is the all-time top scorer for a South American nation.

Messi already stands alone in second place having surpassed Ronaldo Nazario’s total of 62 international goals quite some time ago.

The superstar’s two former Blaugrana teammates Neymar and Luis Suarez are fourth and fifth on the list respectively – Neymar is on 61 goals for Brazil while Suarez has netted 60 goals for Uruguay.

As detailed by Diario Sport, Messi is now likely to surpass Pele’s record and he has moved on to 21 goals in World Cup qualifiers, with Suarez currently out on front on that count with 22.

Tags Argentina Lionel Messi

3 Comments

  1. Which record..? World cup laurels and victories? Or for being the youngest ever to win a world cup in addition to scoring memorable goals inspite of having circumstances stacked against him on account of his ethnic background? It’s a shame that he’s being mentioned in same sentence with a man who was judged not just the best footballer of his century but the best athlete of his century… Ronaldinho was superior to him in every department except the one that obviously was relevant. I don’t think the guy is bad, by the way, just that these creeps who control narratives have pushed this farther than necessary…

  2. I have not seen seen any player as good and magical like Ronaldinho Gaucho. The narrative about Messi and Ronaldo being the best ever is not true. Ronaldinho is the best ever!

Comments are closed

La Liga - Club News