Lionel Messi joins rare territory by scoring 700th career club goal

Updated Feb. 26, 2023 6:50 p.m. ET

Lionel Messi added another milestone to his already prestigious résumé on Sunday. 

The all-time great scored his 700th career club goal in Paris St. Germain's 3-0 win over Marseille. 

Messi's milestone goal came in the 29th minute of Sunday's match when he received a cross from Kylian Mbappé in the center of the box, tapping the ball into the net from just a few yards out. The Argentinian striker was mobbed by his PSG teammates following the goal.

With the goal, Messi became just the second player in history to score 700 career club goals, according to IFFHS (International Federation of Football History and Statistics). The other player to do so is Messi's longtime rival Cristiano Ronaldo.

Messi's latest achievement comes just two months after he led Argentina to a World Cup title, the first World Cup title of his career, a feat that many felt cemented his status as the greatest to ever play the game. 

Messi began his senior club career with FC Barcelona in 2004, playing the first 17 years of his club career with the squad. He scored a whopping 672 goals during his time with Barcelona, averaging roughly 40 goals per season over that stretch.

Following the 2020-21 season, Messi joined PSG. The 35-year-old hasn't scored as frequently with the French club, scoring 28 goals in 62 caps. But he's also shared the field with Mbappé and Neymar for much of his time with PSG.

Messi wasn't the only PSG member to reach a milestone mark in Sunday's win. Mbappé scored the other two goals in the match, giving him 200 goals with PSG. The 24-year-old tied Edinson Cavani for the most goals in club history, doing it in much fewer games than Cavani did (Mbappé has played 246 matches with PSG while Cavani played 301 matches with the squad).

Just like Mbappé did for him, Messi assisted Mbappé on both of his goals on Sunday. Messi set Mbappé up for a shot in the center of the box on a through pass, which Mbappé connected on for a goal in the 25th minute.

Later in the match, Mbappé got the ball outside the box. He passed the ball back to Messi, who sent a chip pass for Mbappé as he ran into the box. Mbappé connected with his left foot, scoring a goal in the 55th minute for his 200th with PSG.

Sunday's match was also a much-needed win for PSG. It entered Sunday's match just five points ahead of Marseille for first place in Ligue 1. Sunday's win gives PSG 60 points through 25 matches this season, while Marseille remains in second with 52 points. 

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