It could not have happened on a bigger stage, as Lionel Messi scored his 500th goal for Barcelona.
The Argentinian striker scored goals number 499 and 500 for Barcelona, as the side came from behind to defeat Real Madrid 3-2 in the Bernabeu on Sunday night.
Messi made his debut for Barcelona in 2004, and 576 appearances later, the striker hit the historic total for the Catalan giants. Only one other player has scored 200 times for Barcelona, such is the dominance of Messi's goal scoring feats.
âš½ï¸ #Messi500 âš½ï¸
👀 The video you simply cannot miss pic.twitter.com/MLwH1nPArq— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) April 24, 2017
343 of Messi's goals have come in La Liga, according to UEFA.com. He has scored 94 times in the Champions League, with a further five coming in the FIFA Club World Cup.
Unsurprisingly, most of the goals have come at the Camp Nou (284), according to Opta. Despite the majority of goals coming on home soil, the Argentine is far from a flat-track bully.
His second and third-most prolific venues are the Santiago Bernabeu (14) and Vicente Calderon (13). The 29-year-old has caused Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid plenty of heartbreak in recent years.
Although he doesn't play for Barcelona anymore, Dani Alves assisted Messi with the most goals. The Brazilian defender helped create 42 goals. Andres Iniesta (34) and Xavi (31) complete the top-three in assists.
He's scored 500 goals before hitting the age of 30. Another 100 for Barcelona is not out of reach.
