"I Admire You": Pele Congratulates Lionel Messi For Equalling His Goal Record

Brazilian football legend Pele has congratulated Lionel Messi for matching his record for most goals at a single club, which has stood for almost half a century. Messi achieved the feat against Valencia in La Liga on Saturday. With a goal in the first half, Messi brought up his 643rd goal for Barcelona. The Brazilian legend had scored the same amount of goals for his club Santos and with the strike against Valencia, Messi went on to equal the record, Goal.com reported. "When your heart overflows with love, it is difficult to change your path, Like you, I know what it''s like to love wearing the same shirt every day. Like you, I know that there is nothing better than the place we feel at home," the 80-year-old former Brazil star wrote on Instagram.

"Congratulations on your historic record, Lionel. But above all, congratulations on your beautiful career at Barcelona. Stories like ours, of loving the same club for so long, unfortunately, will be increasingly rare in football. I admire you very much, @leomessi," he added.

The Argentine superstar reached the milestone with a diving header in the first half against Valencia. In the first half, Messi had also missed a penalty as Valencia goalkeeper Jaume Domenech was up to the task.

The match between Barcelona and Valencia ended in a 2-2 draw with both sides sharing a point each. For Barcelona, Messi and Ronald Araujo got on the scoresheet while Mouctar Diakhaby and Maximiliano Gonzalez were the goalscorers for Valencia.

Barcelona have now slipped to the fifth spot in La Liga standings with 21 points from 13 matches and are eight points behind table-toppers Atletico Madrid. The Catalan side will next take on Valladolid in La Liga on Tuesday.

Topics mentioned in this article

Barcelona Argentina Brazil Lionel Messi Pele Football