Messi writes another chapter in the history of Barcelona

Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccittini is making history at FC Barcelona and he demonstrates it every week in the Liga BBVA. At just 26 years of age, the Argentine forward and product of the Masia academy became the top goalscorer in the history of the azulgranas after surpassing the 369 goals scored by Paulino Alcántara with his hat-trick against CA Osasuna, taking his tally for the Catalan side to 371 in all competitions.

Messi's goal-scoring record with the Barcelona first team in the Liga BBVA began on 1 May 2005 against Albacete Balompié. That day a young Argentinean came off the bench in the 87th minute and only needed one minute to get his name on the scoreboard. Since then he has been unstoppable.

Since his debut in the 2004/2005 season with Barcelona, the number 10's tally is divided as follows between competitions: 233 goals in the Liga BBVA, 67 in the UEFA Champions League, 29 in the Copa del Rey, 10 in the Supercopa de España, 1 in the UEFA Super Cup, 4 in the FIFA Club World Cup and 27 in friendly matches, figures that show that his hunger for goals is present in all competitions.

However, this is not Messi’s first record with Barcelona. The Argentinean has surpassed legends of the Catalan club such as César Rodríguez, when he went past 232 goals in official matches, and next in line are Hugo Sánchez (234) and Telmo Zarra (251), the all-time top goalscorers in the Liga BBVA, who he could overtake over the next few weeks.