Will Messi reach 400 goals in the League?
Leo Messi is close to another record. If he finds the Camp Nou net against Eibar, the Argentine star will have his 400th goal in the Spanish top flight. The captain, who is already the historical top scorer in the competition, will be able to expand his record which, for now, stands at 399 goals in 434 games, and with an incredible average of 0.92 goals per game.
Leo Messi, in a class of his own
No footballer who currently plays in the League comes close to Messi’s goal record. Athletic Club striker Aritz Aduriz is his closest pursuer, and the Basque has just 157 goals in his 422 games in the domestic competition. Barça’s No.10 also heads the all time list of top scorers in La Liga’s 90-year history, and the top five players in this category can be seen below:
- Leo Messi: 399.
- Cristiano Ronaldo: 311.
- Telmo Zarra: 251.
- Hugo Sánchez: 234.
- Raúl: 228.
A first goal remembered by everyone
Messi started his League romance with the goal on May 1, 2005. The Argentine, wearing No.30 and at only 17 years of age, received a pass from Ronaldinho and chipped the oncoming Albacete goalkeeper in an action that all Barça fans remember.
Goal No.100 arrived on November 20, 2010 at Almería. The 200th came at the Camp Nou against Osasuna on January 27, 2013 and the 300th, at El Molinón on February 17, 2016. Will he score the 400th this January 13, 2019? The answer seems to be yes, because Messi is programmed to score 100 goals every three years in the League.
83 braces, 31 hat-tricks
Will he get his 400th as part of a brace of goals or maybe even another hat-trick? His first 399 strikes include 83 doubles and 31 hat-tricks. Incredible figures, but the Argentine still has the ambition to increase them and, therefore, meet one of his challenges for 2019.
