For the longest time, Lionel Messi has been heralded as one of the greatest soccer players on the planet. Not that he needed to prove it anymore, but he just bagged his 700th goal in style, even beating his old rival Ronaldo’s record in the process.

Lionel Messi Has Hit 700 Goals – and He Beat Ronaldo in the Process

700 and Counting

Lionel Messi scored his 700th goal while playing in one of the biggest games of the La Liga season, a match with rivals Atletico Madrid. It seemed as though the Barcelona great had been stuck on 699 goals for ages, three whole matches, which is a slump by his standards.

When Barcelona was awarded a penalty during the match against Atletico, there was no doubt who was going to step up and take the responsibility of scoring. It was Messi, of course, and he did it in style. Messi cheekily chipped the ball over goalkeeper Jan Oblak, who is regarded as one of the best in the world. That made it 700 goals for Messi in all competitions.

Lionel Messi Has Hit 700 Goals – and He Beat Ronaldo in the Process

A Living Legend

Messi may well be the greatest player of all time, and soccer fans get to witness a superstar on another level every time he steps onto the field. One fact that won’t have been missed by Messi’s great rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, is how quickly the Argentine reached his latest landmark.

Messi has scored 700 goals in just 861 games, while Ronaldo took 112 more matches to reach the same figure. Soccer fans have long been divided over which player is better, Messi or Ronaldo. We say just enjoy both of these amazing stars while we still can because they won’t keep playing forever.

Some believe Messi is an alien sent from another planet because he doesn’t seem to have anyone on his level. Ronaldo may be his only true competition, and we’re sure he loved beating his old foe on the way to collecting yet another record.