FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Lionel Messi became the second player in men’s soccer history to score 900 career goals on Wednesday, but his effort was tempered by Inter Miami‘s 1-1 Concacaf Champions Cup second-leg draw with Nashville SC.
The tie eliminated Inter Miami from the tournament, as Nashville earned the road goals tiebreaker against Miami and advanced to the quarterfinal round, the Miami Herald reported.
Cristian Espinoza’s goal in the 74th minute tied the match.
The 900th-career goal for Lionel Andres Messi! 💪pic.twitter.com/dNXpt2ANNt
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 18, 2026
During the seventh minute of the match, Messi connected on a shot from the center of the box to score his 900th goal during competition, CBS Sports reported. Ronaldo achieved the feat in September 2024, according to ESPN.
Messi joins Cristiano Ronaldo as the only men’s players to score at least 900 goals; Ronaldo has 965. It took Messi 1,142 games to reach 900, while Ronaldo needed 1,236 matches, the sports news website reported.
Brazilian great Pele is third on the all-time list with 765, ESPN reported.
Messi scored his 900 goals for his three club sides and his national team, Argentina, The Athletic reported.
He played for Barcelona from 2004 to 2021, Paris Saint-Germain from 2021 to 2023 and has been at Inter Miami in Florida since 2024. His international debut came in 2005, according to The Athletic.
The website added that Messi’s 672 goals for Barcelona are the most anyone has scored for a single club in top-level soccer; he broke Pele’s mark of 643 in December 2020.
Messi has scored 115 international goals for Argentina and trails only Ronaldo, who netted 143 for Portugal, The Athletic reported.
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