Lionel Messi Hits 500 League Career Goals Milestone in Inter Miami’s Greatest Club Win
Lionel Messi hit another personal milestone when he scored his 500th league career goal with Inter Miami after securing two goals in yesterday’s 5-0 win against Orlando City SC, marking Inter Miami’s most considerable margin of victory in club history.
LEO MESSI HAS NOW SCORED 500 LEAGUE GOALS! 🥶🥶 pic.twitter.com/IwniaLCSl5
— Leo Messi 🔟 Fan Club (@WeAreMessi) March 2, 2024
Messi has outdone his rival Cristiano Ronaldo by accomplishing this feat in fewer matches than the Portuguese native. Thirteen months after Ronaldo’s accomplishment, the Argentinian native achieved this milestone in just 587 league matches.
In February 2023, Ronaldo scored his 500th league goal in the fourth game of his debut season with the Saudi Pro League. While the Portuguese native accomplished this milestone ahead of Messi, it took him more games to do so. It took Ronaldo 67 more games than his rival as he reached his 500th league career goal in 654 games.
Messi started his professional football debut with La Liga in 2004 after signing with FC Barcelona. Throughout his 17 years with Barcelona, the Argentinian native scored 474 of his league career goals.
In 2021, Messi signed with Paris Saint-Germain, where he would spend two years in Ligue 1 and clinch another 22 league goals. He clinched his 496th league career goal in his final game with PSG when the football club faced RC Strasbourg and ended the game in a 1-1 draw.
Following his 2-year career in Paris, the 36-year-old signed with Inter Miami on July 15, 2023. The Argentinian native made his MLS debut on August 26, 2023, when Inter Miami competed against the New York Red Bulls, clinching a 2-1 victory over the New York club.
Messi scored his first MLS goal in his debut game, marking his 497th league career goal. The 36-year-old failed to clinch more goals throughout the following MLS regular season games before enduring a hamstring injury that caused him to miss crucial games in the 2023 season.
Messi returned this 2024 season healthy and ready to compete. He secured his first goal of the season in Inter Miami’s second season-opening game against Los Angeles Galaxy, marking 498 league points.
After 21 seasons playing professional football and securing some of the most significant accomplishments in the sport, the 36-year-old clinched his most recent feat of 500 league career goals in yesterday’s game against Orlando City SC.
Messi was not the only player to clinch two goals in yesterday’s game as Inter Miami’s recent addition, Luis Suárez, scored his first 2 MLS debut goals. Suárez is the most recent ex-Barcelona football player to sign with Inter Miami, joining his former teammates Lionel Messi, Jordi Alba, and Sergio Busquets.
The 37-year-old signed with Inter Miami on December 22, 2023, after leaving Grêmio to join the MLS. The reunion of the four former Barcelona teammates stirred up excitement among football fans as they were eager to see how Inter Miami would compete this 2024 MLS season.
The Miami franchise’s preseason friendlies stunned fans as the team did not compete as well as people had anticipated. Inter Miami ended the 2024 MLS preseason with a record of 1-3-3, leaving fans upset with the team’s performance.
After the high anticipation amongst fans, Suárez contributed two goals to the five goals the team secured to establish Miami’s most significant win margin in club history. The 37-year-old played a crucial role in all five goals, scoring two of them himself in the first 10 minutes of the game and later providing two assists.
After securing the most remarkable margin win in Inter Miami club history and an outstanding performance by star players Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez, fans are excited to see how the Miami franchise performs for the remainder of the season. Yesterday’s game granted fans a glimpse into Inter Miami’s talent this season with the recent additions of the four ex-Barcelona teammates who will have an entire season with the franchise to compete for the MLS Cup.
