Lionel Messi scores 900th goal in his career with Inter Miami

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida – Lionel Messi has reached another milestone in his legendary career. Messi, the Argentine World Cup champion, scored his 900th goal for club and country in Inter Miami’s match against Nashville SC at Inter Miami CF Stadium during the Concacaf Champions Cup on Wednesday, March 18. The eight-time Ballon D’Or winner made a cut toward the middle of the box, received a pass from left back Sergio Reguilón, and fired his legendary left boot toward the lower right corner of the net in the 7th minute. Messi, 38, reached the 900-mark in his 1,142nd match at 38 years, 9 months old. Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano, Messi’s former Barcelona teammate, lauded Messi for his impact on the sport beyond the numbers. "Clearly, we don't fully grasp the scale of it. Talking about him scoring 900 goals is insane, incredible for such a unique player. The truth is, I always end up saying the same thing: Leo's numbers are amazing, but above all, statistics are the least important aspect,” Mascherano said before the first leg against Nashville last week. "You can score a lot of goals, the key is how you do it, and he's managed not only to reach incredible numbers in terms of goals and assists, but also because of what he contributes to the game itself, which I believe is much more important than his stats." On his road to 900: Messi scored 672 goals with FC Barcelona, 32 goals with Paris Saint Germain and 81 goals with Inter Miami in Major League Soccer. He also has 115 goals with the Argentine national team, which he could feature with again during this summer’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Messi is second on the all-time goal scoring list behind Cristiano Ronaldo (965), while leading the rest of the Top 5 by a wide margin: Pelé (762), Romário (765) and Ference Puskás (725). Among active players, Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski (693) and Messi’s Inter Miami teammate Luis Suárez (600) trail Ronaldo and Messi on the all-time list. Messi, the reigning two-time MLS MVP, is under contract with Inter Miami through 2028.