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Argentina striker Lionel Messi scored five goals in a 5-0 friendly win over Estonia on Sunday, a result that helped him overtake Hungarian great Ferenc Puskas among the top international scorers of all time.
The former Barcelona player was able to shine once again on Spanish soil in a match played at the El Sadar stadium in the northern city of Pamplona, 430 kilometers from what he called home for 21 years.
Messi, who has now scored 86 times in 162 international appearances, opened the scoring with an eighth-minute penalty as he waited for goalkeeper Matvei Igonen to kick in before firing the ball into the bottom right corner.
The 34-year-old doubled Argentina’s lead just before half-time, adding another goal two minutes into the second half. He sealed the score with two more strikes in the 71st and 76th minutes.
The Argentina captain has caught up and left behind the former Hungarian and – on four occasions – Spanish striker, who has scored 84 goals in 89 games.
Messi is now three goals behind former Malaysia striker Mokhtar Dahari in third. Iranian Ali Daei (109) is second, while Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo remains first with 117 goals.
The Paris St Germain striker also became the first player to score five times in a single European Cup or Champions League clash and in an international match at senior level.
He has already found the back of the net five times 10 years ago, when Barcelona beat Bayer Leverkusen 7-1 in the Champions League Round of 16 second leg at Camp Nou.
The former Barcelona player was able to shine once again on Spanish soil in a match played at the El Sadar stadium in the northern city of Pamplona, 430 kilometers from what he called home for 21 years.
Messi, who has now scored 86 times in 162 international appearances, opened the scoring with an eighth-minute penalty as he waited for goalkeeper Matvei Igonen to kick in before firing the ball into the bottom right corner.
The 34-year-old doubled Argentina’s lead just before half-time, adding another goal two minutes into the second half. He sealed the score with two more strikes in the 71st and 76th minutes.
The Argentina captain has caught up and left behind the former Hungarian and – on four occasions – Spanish striker, who has scored 84 goals in 89 games.
Messi is now three goals behind former Malaysia striker Mokhtar Dahari in third. Iranian Ali Daei (109) is second, while Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo remains first with 117 goals.
The Paris St Germain striker also became the first player to score five times in a single European Cup or Champions League clash and in an international match at senior level.
He has already found the back of the net five times 10 years ago, when Barcelona beat Bayer Leverkusen 7-1 in the Champions League Round of 16 second leg at Camp Nou.
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