According to the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS), He is just the second man to reach the 800 goal landmark, after Cristiano Ronaldo.
In Argentina’s 2-0 friendly victory over Panama on Thursday night in Buenos Aires, Lionel Messi netted his 800th goal for club and country.
Messi’s third attempt from a free kick went past Panama goalkeeper Jose Carlos Guerra in the 89th minute to score his 800th goal and throw the Monumental Stadium crowd into a frenzy. Messi had previously twice hit the post with free kicks.
After the game, Messi addressed the crowd and said, “I want to thank you all for the love and recognition that you have been receiving, not only after the World Cup but also for the Copa America.” We promised to sacrifice everything for this trophy.
After scoring his 799th goal in PSG’s Ligue 1 victory over Nantes on Saturday, the Argentine superstar entered the contest needing just one more goal to reach the milestone.
Shortly after winning the Best FIFA Men’s Player award and leading Argentina to the 2022 World Cup championship in Qatar, Messi passes the 800-point threshold. Last month, he also celebrated scoring his 700th goal for the club.
Argentina’s first game after defeating France in Qatar in December featured a victory over Panama. Thiago Almada opened the score in the second half, and Messi added his historic goal just before the end of regulation to the cheers of the home crowd.
Before the game began, the entire Qatari team arrived at the stadium and posed for photos in front of the World Cup trophy while Messi, manager Lionel Scaloni, and other players brought their families.
“Forever gratitude to these players,” an emotional Scaloni remarked following the game. They own football, and we couldn’t have won the World Cup without them.
“Everyone who wears this shirt works hard, but occasionally the rewards aren’t what they expected. But this time, we succeeded, and it’s amazing.
Messi is only the second player in history, behind Cristiano Ronaldo, to score 800 goals in a career, according to the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS).
In December 2021, the 38-year-old Portuguese star scored his 800th goal.
Due to historical discrepancies in the classification of “official” goals scored in “official” competitions, there is some disagreement among other sources. Pele, a legendary player from Brazil, claims to have scored more than 1,000 goals in his career.
Messi, 35, began his professional career with his childhood club Barcelona, where he played for 778 games and set an astonishing club record by scoring 672 goals.
The most goals ever scored in LaLiga (474), the top level in Spain.
Messi has scored 30 goals for PSG since joining the French champions in the summer of 2021 after leaving Barcelona owing to the club’s financial difficulties.
Another 98 goals have been scored by the Rosario star for Argentina on the international stage, including seven goals in Qatar as his team won the World Cup for the first time.
He has a record-tying seven times as FIFA’s best male player.
