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Earlier this week, Lionel Messi scored the 644th goal of his career for Barcelona, beating Valladolid 3-0, thus breaking Pele’s nearly 50-year record for most goals scored for a single club. While the records of yesteryear may be spotty, it is officially said that Pelé found the bottom of the net 643 times in 656 games for Santos. Messi needed 749 games. Vague.
In any case, Messi’s status as one of the best players to ever play the game is by no means in doubt, but the coolest way his achievement has been commemorated is thanks to a publicity stunt by Budweiser, of all. the companies.
The (quasi) American brewer, calling himself the “King of Beers” and all that, has decided to honor the King of Soccer by sending an individualized bottle of Bud for each of the goals scored to the goalkeeper who conceded that goal. There are 644 bottles of beer, for 644 goals, for 160 different goalkeepers.
Some, especially those with long La Liga careers, got quite a sizable delivery. Iker Casillas got 17 bottles. Jan Oblak was two less than a 12-pack. Former Valencia and Almería goalkeeper Diego Alves more than doubled, with 21 bottles, to lead the way.
A couple of Budweisers also landed in Cobham, targeting one Kepa Arrizabalaga who left them before joining Chelsea. It is famous that Messi once had a very long goal drought against Chelsea, although he finally broke it in 2017-18. By then it was Thibaut Courtois who scored the goal for us, although Petr Čech would end up also giving up to Messi, after moving to Arsenal.
In any case, congrats to everyone involved in this little publicity stunt. The beer may not be good, but that’s not the point anyway.
P.S: If you have an hour (!), Here are all of Messi’s other 643 goals before he set the record on Tuesday.
