Lionel Messi nets his 900th career goal, matching Cristiano Ronaldo.
Lionel Messi has become only the second male player in history to achieve 900 goals in official matches, following his goal in Inter Miami’s Concacaf Champions Cup second-leg encounter against Nashville SC on Wednesday.
The captain of Argentina now joins Cristiano Ronaldo as the only male players to exceed this milestone, with the Portuguese forward accomplishing this in September 2024.
After missing the opportunity to reach 900 in his previous two matches, Messi quickly made his mark in the second leg, receiving a pass in the penalty area, shifting to his left, and then striking back across the goal to give Miami an early advantage.
The Inter Miami captain is the second active player to achieve the 900-goal milestone, following Ronaldo, who reached that figure in September 2024. Ronaldo currently has 965 goals and has expressed his desire to surpass the 1,000-goal mark before his retirement.
Brazilian legend Pele ranks third on the all-time scoring list with 765 goals. Among active players, Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski trails significantly behind Ronaldo and Messi, with a total of 690 goals.
Messi entered Wednesday’s match with 899 goals since his professional debut with Barcelona on October 16, 2004.
The majority of Messi’s goals were scored during his tenure in Spain with Barcelona, where he netted 672 goals, before adding 81 at Inter Miami and 32 at Paris Saint-Germain. On the international stage, the reigning World Cup champion has tallied 115 goals for the Argentina national team.
His recent scoring achievements have propelled Messi to the 2025 MLS golden boot, where he scored 29 goals throughout the regular season, making him the league’s top scorer. He also received the 2025 MLS MVP award, becoming the first player to win this accolade in consecutive years.
Messi is well-acquainted with making history. The eight-time Ballon d’Or recipient holds the world record for the most goals scored in a single calendar year, having netted 91 goals in 69 matches in 2012, with 79 for Barcelona and 12 for Argentina. He is also recognized as the fastest player to reach 100 goals in the Champions League, achieving this in just 123 matches.
