Lionel Messi Scores Hat Trick to Become All Time La Liga Goalscorer

Lionel Messi scored a hat trick in a 5-1 win against Sevilla to become the all time goalscorer in La Liga with 253 goals. He broke the record set by Telmo Zarra in 1955 with 251. Messi only needed 10 years to break the record compared to 15 that Zarra needed. Ironically, Zarra had his record after 278 appearances compared to Messi’s 289.

Messi’s first goal tied the record. He scored on a stunning free kick that no one could get to and made it 1-0.

After a Jordi Alba own goal and a couple goals by Neymar and Ivan Rakitic, Messi drilled the record breaker with a ground pass from Neymar as he and the ball slid into the goal from point blank range. Luis Suarez thought he was getting the goal because he was all primed to tap it in but Messi stepped forward and wanted to break that record sooner rather than later.

Barcelona players celebrated the record by tossing Messi into the air like a kid who had just hit a game winning home run in Little League.

Messi wasn’t done, just a few minutes after the celebration, Messi displayed that magic of his from just inside the box to score #253. Messi ended his historic day with a hat trick.

The only active player who is remotely close to Messi in the all time table is Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo has 196 goals in 177 appearances in half a decade. While Ronaldo is scoring more efficiently than Messi, Messi had the luxury of playing in La Liga for five more years. And if both players keep playing, it’s going to be tough for Ronaldo to catch up.

(BBC)

About Phillip Bupp

Producer/editor of the Awful Announcing Podcast and Short and to the Point. News editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. Highlight consultant for Major League Soccer as well as a freelance writer for hire. Opinions are my own but feel free to agree with them. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @phillipbupp

Quantcast