Nothing to see here. Just Lionel Messi setting another mind-blowing record in impressive fashion.
Messi scored a hat-trick in Argentina's 3-0 victory against Bolivia on Thursday in a World Cup qualifying match. With this, the iconic striker upped his international career goals to 79 and passed Brazil's legendary Pele for most by any male player from South America.
Messi has now scored the MOST goals by a South American player in men's international HISTORY with 78. 🙌
GOAT status 🐐
(🎨 @anasdz1908) pic.twitter.com/YNjNjkhgRv
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) September 10, 2021
The 34-year-old Messi put the entire Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires into an absolute frenzy when he made his first goal of the evening to tie Pele. Many eardrums were hurt after the sensational play.
MESSI WHAT A GOAL, INSANE https://t.co/otegK2zcf3
— J. (@Messilizer) September 9, 2021
Messi, who rocked the football world when he left Barcelona to join Paris Saint-Germain a few weeks ago, admitted that he felt the jitters coming into the match, perhaps with Pele's seemingly unbeatable record circling on his mind (via ESPN).
“I was very nervous, I just wanted to enjoy the night. I waited a long time for this. We won the game that was the most important thing and now we can celebrate.”
It could be a bittersweet feat for Messi though as Pele, a three-time World Cup champion, is still in the hospital recovering from surgery to remove a tumor from his colon. But knowing the 80-year-old football great, he would be the first person to be happy for Messi.
Safe to say, Lionel Messi has had an eventful last few months. Aside from changing clubs and join forces with Neymar, he also led Argentina to the Copa America title to win his first-ever international title, beating Brazil, 1-0.
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