On Tuesday, Lionel Messi got a late birthday present while netting against Atletico Madrid to mark the 700th goal of his professional career.
Messi, who turned 33 on 24 June, converted to put his team 2-1 ahead of Diego Simeone ‘s side after 50 minutes.
He also hit the landmark with consummate style, handing the goalkeeper Jan Oblak a panenka penalty over Atletico. The Slovenian international dived early and was unable to prevent the shot from crossing the line.
Also in his celebration the Argentine forward showed his showmanship by clicking his fingers and winking for the cameras.
The penalty was awarded when Nelson Semedo latched on to a pas down the right inside channel; Atletico defender Felipe came to meet him, but with an outstretched boot he could only bring the right back, and the referee pointed to the spot.
Messi suitably met the target at Camp Nou, his home stadium, for the passion of his career in playing football.
The only downside was that, due to the ongoing threat of the coronavirus pandemic, he could not score in front of the Barcelona fans, with all La Liga matches being played behind closed doors.
He has now scored 630 for the Catalans, making him by some stretch the club’s all-time highest scorer, with another 70 strikes coming up for Argentina in foreign colours.
In doing so he joins a select group of legends in football that have earned a place in the 700 club.
700 club members
Juventus and Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo is the only current player to hit the milestone other than Messi, scoring 725 goals in 1002 professional games for Juventus, Manchester United, Real Madrid, the Bianconeri and his national team.
Nonetheless, in just 860 matches between Barcelona and Argentina, Leo has reached 700, more than 100 fewer than his former Madrid rival Clasico needed to hit the same mark.
Czech-Austrian idol Josef Bican holds the all-time record for goals scored in competitive football, hitting 805 in a career that spanned nearly three decades and included spells in the national teams of Rapid Vienna, Slavia Prague and Austria and Czechoslovak.
Romario (772/994), Pele (767/831), Hungarian hero Ferenc Puskas (746/754), Germany’s Gerd Muller (735/793) and Ronaldo (725/1002) are another target of Barca behind Bican.
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