April 18 – Lionel Messi chalked up his 500th career goal on Sunday, his 319th in La Liga, in Barcelona’s 2-1 home defeat to Valencia.
The landmark comes 11 years after he scored his first senior goal against Albacete in May 2005 as a 17 year old.
Although not having scored for four matches, this was his 26th in 28 games in 2016. His most prolific goal scoring season came in 2011/12, when he scored 82 times for club and country – he has scored more than 60 goals in two of the last three seasons.
He has scored 40 or more goals in the past eight seasons.
It took Messi 632 games to score 500 goals, an average of 0.79 goals per game. 450 goals have been scored in 525 appearances for Barcelona. The remaining 50 have come in 107 games for Argentina.
Arch rival Cristiano Ronaldo has also scored more than 500 goals and is currently at 539 scored in 791 senior appearances.
Messi has been a prolific scorer in the Champions League, netting 83 times. He has scored in two Champions League finals, both against Manchester United, in 2009 and 2011.
Breaking down how he has scored his goals, 406 have come from his left foot, 71 with his right and 21 have been headed. 411 goals have been scored from open play while 64 have been penalties.
One forum where he hasn’t achieved his full potential has been at World Cups. So far he has scored just five goals, but has scored 15 goals in qualification campaigns.
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