Lionel Messi has officially become the sharpest player in South America, to be precise at the international or state level. La Pulga – the nickname of Lionel Messi – surpasses the decades-old record held by Brazilian legend Pele.
Pele’s record broke after Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick when Argentina won 3-0 over Bolivia in the 2022 World Cup Qualifiers South America zone, Friday (10/9/2021). Thanks to the addition of these three goals, Lionel Messi scored 79 goals from 153 matches with the Argentine national team.
Previously, Pele held the record with a record of 77 goals from 92 matches with the Brazilian national team in the 1957-1971 period. The sharpest status in South America makes Lionel Messi beat many famous footballers from the CONMEBOL zone.
For your information, South America has produced sharp players such as Gabriel Batistuta (Argentina), Romario Faria to Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima (Brazil). While active as a footballer, Batistuta scored 54 goals in 77 appearances for Argentina.
Meanwhile, Romario scored 56 goals in 70 appearances for Brazil. What about Ronaldo Luis? The phenomenon packed 62 goals from 98 matches with the Brazil squad.
Currently an active footballer who can catch Lionel Messi’s record is his PSG teammate who defends Brazil, Neymar Jr. The father of one child recorded 68 goals from 112 matches with the Brazilian national team.
Since Neymar Jr is five years younger than Lionel Messi, plus only 11 goals away, Neymar’s chances of surpassing La Pulga’s record are very open. Therefore, before retiring from the Argentine national team, it is mandatory for Lionel Messi to score as many goals as possible.
Moreover, Lionel Messi is still far behind the all-time top scorer at the international level, Cristiano Ronaldo. The eternal rival recorded 111 goals from 180 appearances with Portugal.
Last week, Cristiano Ronaldo surpassed Ali Daei’s record of 109 goals, a record held by the legendary footballer from Iran for a dozen years. In fact, it was recorded that only Cristiano Ronaldo and Ali Daei had packed the barrier of 100 goals at the international level.
Now the question is, can Lionel Messi become the third footballer to break the 100-goal barrier at international level? Interesting to look forward to.
