Lionel Messi has set his sights on breaking more records after surpassing the milestone of 400 career goals.
The Argentine superstar regis¬tered a double in Barcelona’s 6-0 victory over Granada on Saturday, taking his club tally to 359, with his 42 goals on the international stage meaning his overall total has exceeded the four century mark.
Messi promised that he is by no means finished, writing on his Facebook page: “I’ll continue working hard to reach more targets.
“I never imagined I could achieve anything like this in my career. Thank you for all the messages of congratulations.”
Messi is just three goals short of Telmo Zarra’s La Liga record of 251, while he (67) and Cristiano Ronal¬do (69) both look set to beat Raul’s Champions League haul of 71. For Argentina, he lies 12 goals behind Gabriel Bastituta’s mark of 56.
Barca boss Luis Enrique said: “It’s like Messi was touched by a magic wand. He just loves football.”
Enrique was in an understandably cheerful mood after watching his team return to the top of the table with an emphatic home win, also extending their clean sheet record to a club record seven consecutive games.
Trying to give a sense of perspective to Messi’s achievement in reaching 401 goals in just 525 appearances, Enrique added: “Even if you included all the goals we’ve scored on the playground, the rest of us still wouldn’t get close to 400.
“You just have to enjoy watching him. I thought about substituting him, but he is such a pleasure to watch I decided to leave him on for the full 90.”
Enrique also had a humorous response to comments made earlier in the week by Elche manager Fran Escriba, who likened Cristiano Ronaldo to NBA legend Michael Jordan after watching the Madrid ace score four past his team.
“If Ronaldo is Jordan, then Messi is Wilt Chamberlain, who once scored 100 points in an NBA game,” smiled Enrique. “I’ll stick with Messi.”
Aside from his goalscoring feats, another aspect of Messi’s performance against Granada to earn rich praise was the continuation of his new-found generosity in creating chances for his team-mates.
Messi was credited with two assists – a right-footed cross for Ivan Rakitic’s header and a clever square pass which allowed Neymar to complete his hat-trick – taking his overall season total to eight assists in just seven games. Neymar, who is now La Liga’s second-highest scorer behind Ronaldo with six, was eager to credit his fellow South American after completing his first league hat-trick for Barca.
The duo were frequently criti¬cised last season for failing to develop an effective on-pitch un¬derstanding, but the fact that Messi has played the final pass for four of Neymar’s six goals so far this season suggests that is changing.
“My connection with Messi is getting better all the time,” said Neymar, adding: “We are becoming a good pairing.”
Enrique is already looking forward to tomorrow night’s enthral¬ling Champions League trip to Paris Saint-Germain.
The Barca coach has already named his squad for the trip to the French capital, recalling Jordi Alba and Gerard Pique after they were rested against Granada.
The identity of the starting XI remains uncertain, though, with Enrique joking: “I’m not sure about which players will start. I have a wardrobe full of coats, and I can choose whichever one I like.”
