Messi Surpasses Telmo La Liga Record

Lionel Messi chased another Record after scoring 253 La Liga goals

Lionel Messi set La Liga scoring record of 253 goals with a hat trick in the 5-1 win over Sevilla on Saturday. The previous record was held by former Athletic Bilbao striker Telmo Zarra. Zarra scored 251 goals in 277 games and messi surpasses that in 289 appearances with his hat trick on saturday.

“We are all very happy and of course also for Leo,” Xavi, the Barça captain, said. “He has achieved an amazing and historic record.”

Messi leveled the record in the 21st minute with a typically breathtaking effort before netting again on 72 minutes to make it 252. The Argentina international completed his hat trick with 12 minutes remaining and now stands at 253 Liga strikes.

Messi’s team-mates picked him up and threw him into the air several times. His admiring fans at the Camp Nou wildly cheered their talisman. It takes him 10 seasons to overhaul Zarra since his first La Liga goal in May 2005.

Messi also has a share of the Champions League scoring record, having equalled Raúl’s haul of 71 goals this month, and he could overhaul it in Tuesday’s game at Apoel Nicosia.

“Messi has something magical about him when the ball touches his feet,” the former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has said. “It’s as if it has landed on a bed of feathers.”