Messi Ends Drought! Scores His 500th Career Goal

After having suffered his worst goal drought in at least five years, Barcelona's Argentine forward Lionel Messi scored his 500th goal for his club and country, various news outlets reported Monday.

According to BBC, the Argentine striker reached the 500-goal mark in fewer games than his closest competitor, Real Madrid's Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo, but no before him.

In other words, Messi reached the 500 threshold in 632 games, while Ronaldo has 539 goals in 791 games.

Anyway, Messi has 309 La Liga goals, 83 in Champions League play, 39 in Spain's Copa del Rey, or King's Cup, and the rest in different matches, including friendly ones and for his national Argentine team.

Messi's 500th goal came Sunday night as Barcelona faced a very resistant Valencia, who made their night impossible in a 2-1 defeat which left Barca at the same level as Atletico de Madrid in the La Liga title competition.

“For years, the pint-sized Argentinian has been hailed as the best in the world, fighting an ongoing battle with Real Madrid rival Cristiano Ronaldo,” BBC wrote. “Lionel Messi wheels away in celebration after pulling a goal back for Barcelona, but it wasn't enough for his team to move forward.”

This fresh landmark in Messi's extraordinary career came 11 years after the Argentine soccer star scored his first professional goal against Albacete in May 2005. "The figure is from another galaxy," said Barcelona's head director, Luis Enrique, after being asked about Messi's achievement.