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Football

13th Jan 2019

Lionel Messi reaches 400 goal milestone 63 games quicker than Ronaldo

Unlucky Cristiano

Oli Dugmore

BARCELONA, SPAIN - JANUARY 13: Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona scores his team's second goal during the La Liga match between FC Barcelona and SD Eibar at Camp Nou on January 13, 2019 in Barcelona, Spain. The goal is Messi's 400th goal in La Liga for FC Barcelona. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Unlucky Cristiano

As Barcelona cruised to a 3-0 victory over Eibar, Lionel Messi reached a colossal milestone.

Luis Suarez scored two goals in the fixture either side of one for Messi that made him the first player to score 400 goals in one of Europe’s top five leagues.

The Argentinian’s first shot produced the goal. He is the second player to reach that 400 goal milestone, when totalled across Europe’s top five leagues. The first was Cristiano Ronaldo, whose 409 goals came in 507 games in England, Spain and Italy.

But Messi’s score against Eibar got him to 400 goals 63 games earlier than Cristiano Ronaldo.

He is also La Liga’s all-time highest scorer, with Ronaldo in second by scoring 311 in 292 games at Real Madrid.

Barcelona are now five points clear of Atletico Madrid in the league. Madrid moved into fourth after beating Real Betis 2-1, courtesy of a late Dani Ceballos free kick.

Messi made his debut for Barcelona in 2004 and has spent his entire career at the Catalan force, having now accrued 345 appearances.