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Fans have taken to social media to salute Lionel Messi, as the legendary playmaker has now surpassed Cristiano Ronaldo in a new record. After scoring a brace in Inter Miami's 5-0 victory over Orlando City on Saturday, March 2, the Argentine maestro has now racked up 500 goals in 587 league games.
This is much better than Ronaldo's tally, as the legendary striker needed 67 more games (654) to reach the same milestone. In February 2023, Cristiano Ronaldo scored all four goals in a Saudi Pro League match against Al-Wehda, marking his 500th league goal. Currently, he has played 687 games and has scored 534 league goals.
Messi secured this feat by scoring both his goals within five minutes (57', 62') in the second half against Orlando. His career league goals include 474 in La Liga with Barcelona, 22 in Ligue 1 with Paris Saint-Germain, and four in Major League Soccer with Inter Miami.
Lionel Messi didn't have the best start to his MLS career last season, with the Herons eventually missing the playoffs, but he scored 10 goals in the triumphant Leagues Cup. This season, he has scored three goals and provided one assist in three MLS games.
Fans are showering the legendary Argentine with praise for achieving this feat, with one fan exclaiming:
“Better than Pele, Maradona and PR7.”
Here is a selection of their posts on X (formerly Twitter):
Cristiano Ronaldo comes third in top scorers' list in Europe over the last decade; Lionel Messi second
Cristiano Ronaldo has ranked third on the list of most goals scored in Europe over the past 10 years (via GOAL). Playing for Real Madrid, Manchester United, and Juventus in that period, the Portuguese star racked up 350 goals in 406 games.
Second on the list is Lionel Messi with 377 goals from 458 appearances while representing PSG and Barcelona.
In first place, however, is Robert Lewandowski, who is renowned for his incredible spell at Bayern Munich. While with the Bavarians, the prolific Pole won the Bundesliga top scorer award five times in a row between 2017 and 2022. He is the top scorer in Europe in the last decade, having scored a whopping 407 goals in 478 games.
