Lionel Messi produced a Man of the Match performance as Barcelona sealed an impressive 2-0 away victory over Juventus on Wednesday night.The 33-year-old provided the assist for Ousmane Dembele’s first-half opener and then scored his third goal of the season from the penalty spot in stoppage-time.Messi hasn’t always been at his best during the opening weeks of the current campaign, but the six-time Ballon d’Or winner showed once again in Turin why many football fans regard him as the greatest footballer of all time."We didn't kill the game," Barcelona’s head coach Ronald Koeman said afterwards, per Marca."We had very clear chances. But Antoine [Griezmann] had back luck, his shots couldn't have been much better.“It's always important to create chances. We were the superior team, we had depth and a man free in the middle. It was a fair result."
Per beIN Sports correspondent Tancredi Palmeri, Messi has now overtaken the great Gerd Muller on the list of players with the most official goals scored in football history.
Remember: these are all *official* goals only. So while Pele may claim that he scored over 1200 goals, only 767 of them officially count. Sorry, Pele.
Let’s take a look at the top 13…
13. Alfredo Di Stéfano - 516 goals
One of football’s most legendary figures, Alfredo Di Stéfano is synonymous with the formidable Real Madrid side of the 1950s.
12. Zico - 525 goals
Prolific with Flamengo during the 1970s and early-80s, Zico is also the fifth-highest scorer in the history of the Brazilian national team with 48 goals to his name.
11. Zlatan Ibrahimovic - 552 goals
Still going strong at the age of 39, it won’t be too much longer before Zlatan breaks into the top 10.
10. Arthur Friedenreich - 554 goals
Born in 1892, Arthur Friedenreich - aka “The King of Football”, as he was labelled by the European media at the time - played professionally during the early-1900s.
9. Ferenc Deak - 558 goals
One of the first great Hungarian players, the late Ferenc Deak scored at least 200 goals for both Szentlorinci AC and Ferencvarosi TC.
8. Eusebio - 615 goals
One of the greatest strikers in history, Eusebio scored a magnificent 473 goals in just 440 games for his beloved Benfica.
7. Josef Bican - 636 goals
One of the greatest strikers you’ve probably never heard of, Josef Bican netted an astonishing 395 goals in 217 games for Slavia Prague between 1937-1948.
6. Ferenc Puskas - 706 goals
’The Galloping Major’ cemented his status as a legend of the game while playing for Budapest Honved, Real Madrid and Hungary’s national team during the 1950s.
5. Gerd Muller - 720 goals
A brilliant out-and-out goalscorer, Gerd Muller banged in 565 goals for Bayern Munich, plus a further 68 goals for his country in just 62 appearances.
4. Lionel Messi - 721 goals
Messi is firmly on course to end his illustrious career with more official goals than Romario and Pele - but will he score more than Cristiano Ronaldo?
3. Romario - 734 goals
In terms of goalscoring, Romario was a phenomenon. The Brazilian was unquestionably one of the greatest strikers of the 1990s.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo - 742 goals
It won’t be too much longer before Ronaldo has surpassed Pele’s official record.
1. Pele - 767 goals
But for the time being, Pele still occupies pole position in terms of official goals scored.
Still the greatest footballer ever in the eyes of many, the Brazilian will forever maintain that he netted 1,284 goals in 1,375 games - regardless of what the official stats might say.
