On February 19, Paris Saint-Germain was just minutes away from suffering their fourth straight defeat until Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi saved the day to prevent a serious crisis.
Mbappe snatched a late equaliser against LOSC Lille at the Parc des Princes as PSG appeared destined for yet another setback. Deep into extra time, Messi scored the game-winning goal from a free kick with a devastating left-footed effort into the bottom right corner. While that goal established the Messi magic once again, it also took the Argentine legend one step closer to another record.
Messi reached 699 goals in European club football. The world cup winner will join Cristiano Ronaldo as the only players to have at least 700 club goals in Europe’s top five leagues with one more goal.
In November 2022, Ronaldo scored in Manchester United's 2-1 Premier League victory against Everton, bringing his total for his club career to 700. In 944 appearances for Sporting Lisbon, ManU, Real Madrid and Juventus, Ronaldo scored those 700 goals. The interesting thing about this record is that Ronaldo no longer plays for a top European team.
Messi may soon get past Ronaldo. And, If the Portuguese footballer does not go back to one of Europe's top five leagues, La Pulga may get too ahead of Ronaldo for him to catch up and settle in the top position. In December 2022, Ronaldo joined Al Nassr after agreeing to a 2.5-year contract.
Messi's colleague in the world cup-winning Argentina squad, goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez of Aston Villa, thinks that Argentina's victory in the 2022 World Cup final solidified Leo’s reputation as the greatest football player ever.
“I won everything as an international playing with the best ever player of all time,” Martinez told Sky Sports.
Meanwhile, analysts like Jérôme Rothen think Lionel Messi's time at Paris Saint-Germain is done. According to several media sources, Messi is inclined to leave the team.
