Lionel Messi continued his superb form in his first match back after the World Cup for Paris Saint-Germain as he equalled a goal record held by Cristiano Ronaldo
Lionel Messi scored on his first match since Argentina’s remarkable World Cup victory as Paris Saint-Germain eased to a Ligue 1 win over Angers.
Messi was the hero in Argentina’s remarkable final victory over France last month. The Argentine superstar broke multiple records in the final on his way to finally getting his hands on the trophy that had previously eluded him during his career.
Messi was playing for PSG for the first time since the tournament, having been granted a leave of absence for the Ligue 1 clashes against Strasbourg and Lens, alongside the Coupe de France win over Chateroux.
The Argentine played the full 90 minutes of the match as Christophe Galtier’s side recorded a two-goal victory to extend their lead at the top of Ligue 1 over second-placed Lens to six points. Striker Hugo Ekitike opened the scoring before Messi doubled the home side’s lead.
The 35-year-old found the net with 18 minutes of time remaining after being played in by Nordi Mukiele, allowing him to cap his return to club football after a two-month absence with a goal to help his side in their campaign to defend the league title.
That was Messi’s 13 th goal of the campaign in his 20 th match, and his eighth goal in Ligue 1 – which is two more than his entire tally in the division from last season. It was his 24 th goal in total for Les Parisiens following his switch from Barcelona in the summer of 2021.
Messi was back in club action for the first time since the World Cup ( Image: Catherine Steenkeste/Getty Images)
It continues Messi’s phenomenal goal scoring record at Barca, where he was the club’s record scorer with an incredible 672 goals in 778 appearances. That was more than the combined totals of Catalan giant’s second highest scorer, third highest scorer and fourth highest scorer.
That means he has now scored a whopping 696 goals across his senior club career for Barcelona and PSG, which equals the number of goals scored by Cristiano Ronaldo in Europe’s top five leagues.
The Portuguese superstar netted 118 goals in his first spell at Manchester United before bagging a club-record 450 goals in just 438 appearances for Real Madrid, 101 goals over three seasons at Juventus and then a further 27 goals for United in his second spell at the club.
Ronaldo also scored five goals at the start of his career for Lisbon-based giants Sporting CP, which means his club career in total is 701 – five ahead of long-term rival Messi, who is two years younger than him.
Argentina international has awkward picture of Cristiano Ronaldo tattooed on their leg
One Argentina women’s national team star has a controversial stance on the Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo debate despite Messi bringing home the World Cup for Argentina
Argentina women’s national team forward Yamila Rodriguez has a tattoo of Cristiano Ronaldo (Image: Getty Images)
Argentina striker Yamila Rodriguez awkwardly has a picture of Cristiano Ronaldo on her leg.
The Argentina women’s and Boca Juniors star, 24, is a huge fan of the former Real Madrid and Manchester United legend. So much so that her shin bears a tattoo of Ronaldo’s face as well as the forward doing his famous ‘siu’ celebration.
But Rodriguez’s ink has unsurprisingly raised a few eyebrows, given the five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s greatest rival is Argentina legend Lionel Messi.
Many would assume her idol to be her compatriot, who carried his country to a third World Cup triumph in Qatar last month. The revered No.10 returned to Argentina to a hero’s welcome after the tournament as millions filled the streets of Buenos Aires.
The shin tatt may indicate her stance on the Ronaldo vs Messi debate (Image: Getty Images)
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest players of all time (Image: Getty Images)
Messi was then serenaded in his home city of Rosario and fans even gathered around his grandmother’s house to show their appreciation for a man who has long transcended football. The average Argentine therefore likely believes Messi, or Diego Maradona, to be the greatest footballer ever, rather than Ronaldo.
So it is understandable that many would be left baffled at Rodriguez’s perceived preference for Ronaldo. In other words, to coin a phrase, ‘There’s rice at home’.
Lionel Messi is a hero to millions of Argentines (Image: FIFA via Getty Images)
Ronaldo and Messi shared many on-pitch battles from 2009 to 2018 while playing for Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively. They relentlessly shattered each-other’s records season after season and pushed each other to a combined 12 Ballon d’Ors.
And despite now being in their twilight years, the pair could meet on the pitch one more time. Ronaldo could make his Saudi Arabia debut in an all-star team set to face Paris Saint-Germain and Messi on January 19.
Source: mirror.co.uk; dailystar.co.uk
