Africa-Press – Nigeria. Argentina forward, Lionel Messi has surpassed the goal record of Brazilian great, Pele, after scoring his 644th goal for Barcelona on Tuesday night.
Messi scored in the 65th minute to help Barca beat Real Valladolid 3-0 in the La Liga after being involved in the two other goals.
The 33-year-old, who was on the verge of leaving the club after last season, has now beaten the Pele record that was thought to be impossible to beat.
Former England player and sports broadcaster, Gary Lineker took to his Twitter to congratulate Messi, adding that the record would never be beaten again.
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Messi equals Pele’s record of 643 goals for single club
‘Lionel Messi has beaten Pele’s record of most goals scored at a single club. This is a record that no one thought would ever be beaten. It will never be beaten again,’ Lineker wrote.
Pele scored his 644 goals in 19 seasons for Santos in his homeland between 1956 and 1974.
Messi scored his first goal for Barca in 2005 and has surpassed the record in about 15 years, yet Lineker’s assertion was countered be the broadcaster went on to explain how the record can be broken.
“To beat Messi’s 644 goal record, someone will have to score an average of 43 goals a season for 15 years….for one club,” Lineker tweeted.
Messi has won 10 La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues with Barcelona, and is out of contract at the end of this season and able to talk to other clubs from January.
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