Barcelona forward Lionel Messi equalled Brazil legend Pele’s record of 643 goals for a single club. Messi equalled Pele’s tally with a header at the stroke of halftime in Barcelona’s 2-2 home draw with Valencia in LaLiga on Saturday evening. Messi achieved the feat across 17 seasons in 748 games, Pele needed only 665 games to reach the figure.
The Brazilian Giant soon reacted to the feat with a congratulatory message for Messi. Pele took to Instagram and wrote, “When your heart overflows with love, it is difficult to change your path. Like you, I know what it’s like to love wearing the same shirt every day. Like you, I know that there is nothing better than the place we feel at home. Congratulations on your historic record, Lionel. But above all, congratulations on your beautiful career at Barcelona. Stories like ours, of loving the same club for so long, unfortunately will be increasingly rare in football. I admire you very much, @leomessi.”
Brazilian Giant Pele is the only player to have won the World Cup three times. He also holds the Guinness world record for most goals in a career. He is Brazil’s all-time highest scorer with 77 goals in 92 international matches from 1957 to 1971.
Messi has another Pele record in his sights. The 77 goals that the Brazilian scored for his country are still a South American record. Messi has 71 for Argentina and needs just six more to equal that number.
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