The magic of Lionel Messi, who became only the second footballer to net 900 career goals. can’t be measured in numbers. But the raw statistics do capture the goal-scoring colossus he was, the versatility he showed and the staggering consistency he has displayed in two-decade-long career (unfinished yet!)
A natural left-footer, he scored more than three fourth of his goals with the left peg. As many as 756, which is only six fewer goals than Pele scored in competitive games in his entire career, exactly the same as Romario netted in his golden career and 31 more than Hungarian legend Ferenc Puskas. The right leg accounts for 111, which is more than the career goals of several celebrated footballers. He was not a voracious header (the head he used to imagine goals), scoring 30, and three from chest, neck and left hand.
Half of 20 seasons, he stroked 50 goals on an average. The highest yield was 91 (the most by any player in the sport’s history) in 2012. In four other seasons did he manage 40-plus strikes, which is a staggering number in itself. In only two complete seasons did he net less than 20 goals (the first two with Barcelona).
¡900 veces Lionel Messi! ⚽
— Concacaf Champions Cup (@TheChampions)
He wreaked havoc on most defences. But he preferred Sevilla the most, belting 38 past them. Atletico Madrid takes second place while he coughed up 26 against El Clasico rivals, Real Madrid. Bolivia was his favourite country (11). Among clubs he has played more than twice, he fired blanks against Inter Milan (door-bolted by Jose Mourinho in 2010) , Rubin Kazan and Rennes.
Only in one full season did he not score a hat-trick (2008). He scored nine in 2012, his most prolific year, in which he slammed one every eight games. The first famously came against Real Madrid in 2007, though he managed only more against the famous rivals. Twice he scored five times in a game too.
The most famous sight was him cutting inside from the right wing and uncoiling his devastating left-leg. But he scored all sorts, volleys, tap-ins, toe-pokes and nudges. Of those 724 arrived from inside the box, of which 112 were penalties. Among the 176 from outside the box, 70 were free-kicks. It was towards the end of his career that he began to take free-kicks more frequently, and hit a high in 2018 (10).
Barcelona was where his heart was, perhaps still is. For the Catalan giants he tallied 672 goals (in 778 games), the most by any player for a single club. Argentina comes next (115 in 196), followed by Inter Miami (81 in 93) and PSG (mere 32 in 75, his driest time). It’s little surprise that 211 came under Pep Guardiola, who reshaped him from a nippy winger to a false nine.
Messi’s 900 goals came in 1,142 games, that is he averaged .79 goals a game, the fourth best ever in the world. Of the goals, He has recorded 175 came in knockout stages, including 35 in finals.
