Lionel Messi is never far away from breaking a new record or surpassing his next milestone, and he has achieved another huge milestone in his incredible career: his 900th goal.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner enters 2026 having scored 896 goals in his senior career argentina, barcelona, Paris Saint Germain and current club inter miami After their final match of the campaign: Miami’s MLS Cup win Above vancouver whitecaps On 5th December.
Already scored three more goals before hosting Miami this year nashville for their second phase Concacaf Champions Cup Messi’s goal in the seventh minute of Wednesday’s match, a round-of-16 tie, took his official tally to 900.
Now, Messi’s longtime rival, Cristiano RonaldoThe only other active player to score more than 900 professional career goals is, This feat was achieved in September 2024. Given that the active player with the next highest goal total is Robert LewandowskiWith 747, it may be some time before the twin giants of modern football are joined by someone else in the 900 club.
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Messi’s goalscoring journey began in May 2005, when the teenage sensation emerged from the bench in the last two minutes of a league game against Barcelona. albasite and closed one 2-0 Winning with his first goal in professional football.
Even though expectations were high for Messi throughout his development, no one could have predicted the incredible level of success he achieved after that first goal at the Camp Nou. Yet here we all are, 21 years later, with Messi still scoring goals at such a rate that there’s no telling how much more he can achieve.
Much has been made of Ronaldo’s quest to reach the undisputed career mark of 1,000 goals, with the 41-year-old now within 40 strikes of that total. But as Messi hits goal number 900, can he too focus on that four-figure total? And, despite being almost two and a half years younger than Ronaldo, could he still retire with more goals than portugal supper star?
Messi goals by team
It shouldn’t be much of a surprise to learn that the majority of Messi’s goals came at the club where he enjoyed most of his career and his peak years: Barcelona. The forward scored 672 goals in 778 games for the Catalan giants over 17 seasons – 75% of his career total.
Messi then went on to score 32 goals in 75 games during his two-year stint with PSG and a further 81 goals in 93 games so far for Inter Miami.
On the international front, Messi has scored 115 goals in 196 games for Argentina. Although none were bigger than the two goals he scored in 2022 (plus a penalty in the shootout) FIFA World Cup final victory over France.
Barcelona: 672 goals in 778 games
Paris Saint Germain: 32 goals in 75 games
Inter Miami: 81 goals in 93 games
Argentina: 115 goals in 196 games
Total: 900 goals in 1,142 games
Messi’s goals per season
At the age of 17, Messi made his debut for the Barcelona senior team in 2004–05 under head coach Frank Rijkaard and scored just one goal in nine appearances in all competitions – his first professional career goal, when Ronaldinho set him up to open his account against Albacete in May 2005.
He scored his first senior international goal for Argentina in March 2006 in a friendly defeat croatia. And with goals combined for club and country, Messi reached double figures in his sophomore campaign (10 goals in 2005–06) and has not looked back, performing similarly in each of the subsequent 20 seasons of his professional career.
Messi’s highest return in a single season came in 2011–12, when he scored 82 goals for club and country. This was the same season that Messi scored his 234th goal in 314 games for Barça and became the club’s career top goalscorer at the age of 24, taking over the title from 1940s and 50s hero César Rodríguez. The decisive strike proved to be the second goal of Messi’s hat-trick, which he scored 5-3 victory over Grenada In March 2012.
Messi had to wait until November of the 2014–15 campaign to become LaLigaCareer top scorer when another hat trick, this time against SevilleSaw him reach 253 goals in 289 Spanish league games. He overtook another Barça great, Telmo Zarra, whose personal record of 251 goals in La Liga had held since 1955. Messi scored a total of 66 goals in that season.
To summarize his ridiculously brilliant goal-scoring consistency, during the 22 seasons that Messi has spent as a professional footballer, he has crossed the 80-goal mark once, the 60-goal mark three times, the 50-goal mark eight times and the 40-goal mark on 14 occasions. During his glorious heyday, he scored at least 30 goals for club and country for 13 consecutive campaigns between 2008–09 and 2020–21, which ended with him leaving Barcelona for PSG.
After that emotional exit, Messi’s goalscoring return in Paris faltered, with “a mere” 22 goals in his first season (2021-22). That said, he scored 37 goals in his second stint (2022-23). He did not spend very much time in France, but he managed to win two league 1 title and trophy des championsAlso overtook Ronaldo’s tally of 701 goals to become the top career goalscorer in European club football with one goal. Good In April 2023.
Many records and achievements in Messi’s name
Messi refused to give up on his career achievements. He became Barcelona’s top career scorer in 2011–12, just eight seasons into his senior career, scoring 234 goals in his first 314 games for the club. After this, he immediately made the LaLiga record by scoring his 253rd goal in the Spanish league.
We should not ignore the fact that he also holds the world record for most goals in a calendar year, reaching 91 in 69 games in 2012. Messi scored 79 goals for Barça and 12 for Argentina, surpassing the previous annual record of 85 that he had held. Bayern Munich Legend Gerd Muller since 1972.
Messi scored the 500th goal of his club and international career in April 2016, when Barcelona suffered a 2–1 defeat at home. Valencia. The forward did so in his 632nd game, having scored 450 goals in 525 games for Barça and 50 in 107 games for Argentina.
He is also the fastest player to score 100 goals Champions League To do so after playing only 123 games, with a significant strike chelsea In March 2018 – he also became the youngest player to reach a century in the competition, at the age of 30 years and 263 days.
In the second leg of the same quarterfinal, Messi also scored the fastest goal of his career, when he scored his 99th UCL goal with 128 seconds remaining at the Camp Nou.
Even though he’s approaching his 40th year, Messi is still racking up milestones of MLS. After guiding Inter Miami to their first trophy, 2023 league cupSubsequently, he took over as Inter Miami’s top career scorer in 2024, scoring 23 goals in 25 games and leading them to claim the Supporters’ Shield.
Messi stepped it up again in the 2025 season, scoring 29 goals in 28 regular season games en route to winning the MLS Golden Boot. He also became the fastest player in MLS history to reach 50 goals, playing 53 games to break the previous record shared by Zlatan Ibrahimovic and joseph martinez (54 games). Overall, Messi scored 43 goals in 49 games for Inter Miami in 2025.
how does messi score his goals
As you might expect, Messi’s magical left boot contributed to the majority of his 900 career goals. However, despite standing only 5 feet 7 inches tall, he has scored a respectable number of goals with his head. His most famous header was in the 2009 Champions League Final, when he lofted the ball over 6 feet 6 inches tall goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar and in. Manchester United Net.
Left leg: 756
right foot: 111
Head: 30
Other: 3
The majority of Messi’s goals have come from open play as well as a good proportion from the penalty spot. But one of the less appreciated aspects of his game is his excellent set-piece ability, with every 13 of his 900 career goals coming from a direct free kick.
Open Game: 718
Penalty: 112
free kicks: 70
When could Messi score 1,000 goals?
He still has to score 100 goals before he reaches the 1,000 milestone, but there is every possibility that Messi will get there.
At 38, he still has three seasons to run on his Inter Miami contract after signing an extension in October 2025. The deal is scheduled to run until the conclusion of the 2028 MLS campaign, when Messi will turn 41.
Since moving to MLS in July 2023, Messi has averaged nearly 36 goals a season for club and country (81 for Miami, 12 for Argentina). However, there is uncertainty over how long he will continue to play for Argentina – speaking to ESPN in December, He will not confirm that he will play in the 2026 World Cup –This rate will likely decrease if he is no longer playing international games.
Still, if he continues to score an average of 36 goals per season for Miami after the World Cup next summer, Messi will be on track to score his 1,000th career goal sometime at the end of the 2028 campaign, in the final year of his current contract.
Of course, this is an incredibly basic calculation that doesn’t take into account any fluctuations in form or fitness – but we’ve used the same methodology to calculate when Ronaldo will reach his 1,000th career goal, and We are not far from the goal Regarding his progress so far toward that goal.
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How can Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi face each other in the WC quarter-finals?
Take a look at the possible 2026 World Cup quarter-final fixtures, including Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal taking on Lionel Messi’s Argentina.
Can he retire with more goals than Ronaldo?
Ronaldo, who currently has 965 career goals in 1,309 games for club and country, turns 41 on February 5.
Messi, who scored 900 goals in 1,142 games at the senior level, will turn 39 on June 24.
If Ronaldo now dramatically announces his immediate retirement and Messi plays two more seasons for club and country until the age of 40, while successfully maintaining his goal average of 36 goals per season since moving to America, the latter would potentially surpass his rival’s figure of 965 by mid-to-late 2027.
In that scenario, Messi could finish his career with a total of 968. Again, this is a ballpark calculation, but it gives an indication of how much time the two rivals have on Messi’s side as a young player.
Both players have unquestionably defined the era in which they have played, winning the Ballon d’Or a combined 13 times between Ronaldo’s first in 2008 and Messi’s eighth in 2023. But, even now, both are still strengthening their claims to be declared the greatest of all time.
