The Argentine star now trails only the Portuguese forward, who has scored 965 goals.
Lionel Messi scored his 900th career goal on Wednesday, becoming only the second player in elite men’s football history to reach the milestone after Cristiano Ronaldo.
The 38-year-old Argentine World Cup winner reached the landmark with a left-footed goal in Inter Miami CF’s 1-1 draw against Nashville SC in the Concacaf Champions Cup.
Lionel Messi reached his 900th career goal 21 years after scoring his first senior goal for FC Barcelona as a 17-year-old in 2005.
Inter Miami CF manager Javier Mascherano described Messi’s tally as “insane,” adding that witnessing so many of his goals up close has been a privilege and calling him truly one of a kind.
Messi, an eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, reached the landmark in his 1,142nd appearance for club and country—almost 100 games fewer than Cristiano Ronaldo, who took 1,236 matches to reach the same milestone in September 2024. Ronaldo has now scored 965 goals and is aiming for the 1,000-goal mark before retiring.
The majority of Messi’s goals came during his time at Barcelona, where he scored 672 times. He also netted 32 goals for Paris Saint-Germain, 81 for Inter Miami, and 115 for Argentina, with whom he won the 2022 World Cup.
Messi has delivered in key moments, with 175 goals in knockout matches, including 35 in finals. His 129 Champions League goals place him second only to Ronaldo’s 140.
Despite his milestone goal, it was a bittersweet night for Inter Miami, who were eliminated from the competition on away goals after a 0-0 draw in the first leg.
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