Messi overtakes Ronaldo to set new record against Real Sociedad

Barcelona captain Lionel Messi on Saturday night emerged the top goalscorer in the top five European leagues, surpassing Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo. The top five leagues include England’s Premier League, Spain’s La Liga, Germany’s Bundesliga, Italy’s Serie A and France’s Ligue 1.

The Argentine international recorded this feat when he scored a penalty in Barcelona’s 1-0 win against Real Sociedad last night. The goal was Messi’s 438th goal in his 474th appearances for Barcelona, beating his rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who has bagged 437 goals in 540 games for Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Juventus.

Messi has also featured for the Catalan giants on 718 occasions scoring 627 times while Ronaldo – who has also played for Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United and Real Madrid – has notched 626 in 835 appearances. The 32-year-old has a better goals-per-game ratio than Ronaldo and scored all of his goals in Spain’s top divisions, while his rival has scored his goals in three of the top five leagues.

438 – @FCBarcelona's Lionel Messi has become the all-time top-scorer in the top five European leagues (438 goals in 474 appearances), surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo (437 in 540). Battle. pic.twitter.com/konZO1J8Pr

— OptaJose (@OptaJose) March 7, 2020

Messi’s 81st-minute penalty put the Catalans two points clear of rivals Real Madrid at the top of La Liga. He slotted the home penalty controversially awarded by VAR minutes after Robin Le Normand had handballed an incoming cross at the other end.

The Argentine blasted the ball into Alex Remiro’s far left corner and getting the Camp Nou on its feet. Yesterday’s conversion his 55th penalty goal in La Liga, two Madrid players lead him in this facet of the game.

The Argentine also lead his Portuguese rival in individual honors such as Pichichis, Golden Shoes, and Ballon d’Ors, while Ronaldo leads Messi in winning European trophies. CR7 has five Champions League crowns to Messi’s four, not to mention his Euro 2016 triumph with Portugal and Messi’s four final failures for Argentina at the 2014 World Cup and Copa Americas of 2007, 2015 and 2016.

Good morning, 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴 ! ☕️ pic.twitter.com/c0VRt0RZNS

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) March 8, 2020

Ronaldo scored 61 overall, a record which was achieved in nine seasons at the Bernabeu at an average of 6.7 per season. From 1985 to 1992 however, in seven campaigns, the Mexican legend Hugo Sanchez managed an average of eight to score 56 overall from 12 yards out. In comparison, Messi’s 3.4 per term across 16 of them in Spain is low.

There are still chances to lead Ronaldo considering the fact that Messi is two years younger than Ronaldo. Also if Barça can build a decent team around their skipper, and the Argentine national team can win trophies, Messi will be unstoppable.