The GOAT debate took a twist in Messi’s favor after the Barcelona captain scored twice against Alaves.
Lionel Messi has moved level with Cristiano Ronaldo on 573 open-play goals after scoring twice from outside the box on Saturday.
The 33-year-old scored a brace at Camp Nou to help Barcelona thrash Deportivo Alaves 5-1. He has now scored 15 goals in 20 league games, leaving him just one goal behind La Liga’s top-scorer Luis Suarez in the scoring charts.
According to michelacosta, Messi’s brace means he has allegedly scored 573 open-play goals across his career – the same amount as Ronaldo.
79.14% of the Argentine’s 724 career goals have come from open-play, with Ronaldo having scored 75.10% open-play goals in his 763 career tally in comparison.
Messi is also just a goal shy of equaling Ronaldo’s tally of 56 free-kick goals.
Perhaps the most interesting part, however, is that the Juventus ace has only scored 38 more penalties than the Barca man.