Barcelona superstar Lionel messi sent a heartfelt note to his fans, family and friends after breaking Pele’s all-time scoring record for a single club. Messi scored his 644 goal for the La Liga giants on Tuesday, thus surpassing the great Brazilian’s 643 tally for Santos during his 19-season stint at his hometown club, between 1956 and 1974.
Messi, who matched Pele’s record In the majority of goals scored by a single club on Saturday against Valencia, he surpassed the legendary footballer’s tally when he scored during the 3-0 win in Valladolid.
“When I started playing soccer, I never thought I was going to break any record, especially the one I broke today, which was Pele’s. I can only thank everyone who helped me all these years, my teammates, my family, my friends and everyone who supports me every day, “Messi wrote in an Instagram post on Wednesday.
Messi has won 749 games for 644 goals, while Pelé did it in a faster time, as he only needed 665 competitive games for Santos for 643 goals. Messi scored his first goal for Barcelona in 2015 and has played 17 seasons with the Catalans. He has won 10 La Liga titles and up to four Champions League titles with the team.
In particular, Pelé had recognized Messi’s feat, lavishing high praise on the Barcelona forward. The Brazilian legend also highlighted that the longevity of star players in a single club has become a rarity in modern football.
“Congratulations on your historical record, Lionel. But above all, congratulations on your beautiful career at Barcelona. Stories like ours, of loving the same club for so long, will unfortunately be increasingly rare in football. I admire you a lot” , Pele wrote in a post on social media.
However, it looks like Messi’s season at Barcelona may end sooner rather than later, as the star forward is out of contract at the end of the season. Messi wanted to get away from Barcelona before the start of the season, citing a clause in his agreement that would allow him to leave in free transfer. However, Barcelona activated a £ 624 million release clause that led to a public dispute between the La Liga giants and their superstar footballer.
