Lionel Messi scored his 102 goals for his country as Argentina thrashed Curacao 7-0 but the question is, can he overtake Cristiano Ronaldo?
The Paris Saint-Germain attacker reached a massive milestone on Tuesday night as he scored his 102nd goal for Argentina.
The GOAT as some people refer him, scored three goals in the first half in a friendly win over Curacao.
Though his future is yet undecided, as there are links with him and MLS side Inter Miami or a return to his former club Barcelona or even joining Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia.
Well, whether or not he moves, the question still remains – will he be able to overtake Cristiano Ronaldo goal scoring record?
The friendly was Lionel Messi’s 174th match for his country. He opened the scoring 20 minutes into the match against the Caribbean opponents.
The former Barcelona captain scored the first goal from the edge of the area to reach a record 100 goal mark for his country, just like few other greats.
He then scored his second with a cross that turned a shot, before he sealed his hat-trick and 102nd goal before the end of the first half.
With this record, Lionel Andres Messi becomes the third player after rival Cristiano Ronaldo (122) and retired Iranian player Ali Daei (109) in the all-time highest goalscorer chart in international football.
Lionel Messi is now 20 goals behind his Arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo who currently holds the record for most goals scored for his country.
Ronaldo reached the 100th threshold for Portugal in a 2-0 victory over Sweden in the Nations league back in September 2020.
Messi might not be able to catch up or break the record set by Cristiano Ronaldo given that he is already 35 years old and not as performance eccentric as his Portuguese counterpart.
Lionel Messi also became the first South American male player to hit the 100-goal tally, and the second South American behind Brazil’s Marta, who has scored 109.
He helped Argentina mark their second victory since the World Cup victory in Qatar, having won Panama 2-0 last week.
Lionel Messi
Lionel Andrés Messi, was born on 24th June 1987, he is also known as Leo Messi – An Argentine footballer who plays as a forward for PSG and captains the Argentina national team.
He is globally considered as one of the greatest players of all time. Lionel Messi has won a record seven Ballon d’Or awards and a record six European Golden Shoes.
Leo Messi is also a prolific goalscorer and creative playmaker – he currently holds the records for most goals scored in La Liga (474), most hat-tricks scored in La Liga (36) and the UEFA Champions League (eight), and most assists in La Liga (192) and also the Copa América (17).
He currently holds the record for the most international goals by a South American male player (102).
Leo Messi, currently, has scored 803 senior career goals for club and country, and also has the most goals by a player for a single club (672).
Such an incredible feat, do you think he can surpass Cristiano Ronaldo who is currently on 122? Share your thoughts below.
