Lionel Messi has made history as he becomes the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers highest goalscorer after his brace against Peru.
The former PSG attacker overtook Luis Suarez, as the all-time leading scorer in CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers with 30 goals.
The Barcelona legend scored his first goal in the 32nd minute with a lovely shot to the right-hand corner of the post.
He doubled the tally scoring10 minutes later after showcasing his versatility with a left corner strike with his left foot.
While Messi has not revealed when he will retire from Argentina, he is set to captain the country to Copa America which is scheduled to be played in the US from June 20 to July 14 of 2024.
Argentina currently tops the CONMEBOL 2026 World Cup Qualifiers Standings with a perfect record of four wins followed by Uruguay and Brazil.
CONMEBOL WC Highest Goalscorers
| Player | Country | Goals |
| Lionel Messi | Argentina | 31 |
| Luis Suarez | Uruguay | 29 |
| Marcelo Martins | Ecuador | 22 |
| Alexi Sanchez | Chile | 20 |
| Hernan Crespo | Argentina | 19 |
Following their season-ending loss to Charlotte FC on Saturday, Messi will return to the United States with Inter Miami and will likely be involved with the MLS club in some friendlies later in the season after they failed to qualify for MLS playoffs.
Lionel Messi declared during Tuesday’s game that he will play again in the Major League Soccer.
Inter Miami will play two games in China early in November, the first against Qingdao Hainiu FC on November 5 and the second against Chengdu Rongcheng on November 8.
Messi’s participation in these friendlies is uncertain, especially in light of Argentina’s forthcoming schedule.
Next month, Argentina will play two of the strongest teams in the region, Uruguay and Brazil, to continue their World Cup qualifying campaign.
They will play host to Uruguay on November 16 and then depart for Brazil on November 21.
Lionel Messi
Lionel Andrés Messi also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine footballer who was born on 24 June, 1987 and plays as a forward for MLS side Inter Miami and captains Argentina national team.
Lionel Messi is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. Messi has won a record seven Ballon d’Or awards and a record six European Golden Shoes, and in 2020 he was named in the Ballon d’Or Dream Team.
Lionel Messi most recently led Argentina to FIFA World Cup trophy in Qatar where he faced off with his former PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe in the final.
With Argentina, Messi won the 2021 Copa América and the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
He is a prolific goalscorer and creative playmaker, Messi holds the records for most goals in La Liga (474), most hat-tricks in La Liga (36) and the UEFA Champions League (eight), and most assists in La Liga (192) and the Copa América (17).
He also has the most international goals by a South American male (106) and has scored over 800 senior career goals for club and country, and has the most goals by a player for a single club (672).
