Lionel Messi scores 900th goal: Breaking down Argentina star's remarkable career tally for club and country

Lionel Messi has reached a remarkable career milestone that only one other football player in the history of the sport has verifiably achieved.

The Argentine legend has been one of the very best players ever to play the sport since he emerged as a senior player in 2004 with Barcelona. On March 18, he scored his 900th goal, an open-play, left-footed strike for Inter Miami against Nashville.

His illustrious and decorated career has seen Messi become one of the most successful players of all time, and he is considered by many to be the greatest player to ever take the field.

The Sporting News takes you through the numbers behind Lionel Messi's goal-scoring career, which includes his 900th all-time official goal for club and country.

MORE: All trophies won across Lionel Messi's legendary football career for club and country

Lionel Messi scores 900th goal

Lionel Messi's 900th goal came in the seventh minute of a CONCACAF Champions Cup match against Nashville. Video of the historic moment is below. The goal came in Inter Miami's final game at Ft. Lauderdale's Chase Stadium. The club is set to move to its permanent home at Miami's newly constructed Freedom Park in short order.

If Messi wished to reach the 1,000 goal mark, he would likely need to play another three or four full seasons, which feels unlikely given he is now 38 years old and believed to be nearing the conclusion of at least his international career, if not considering full retirement.

Lionel Messi career goals breakdown

Unsurprisingly, Lionel Messi scored the vast majority of his goals while playing for Barcelona, but he has added to his tally considerably since leaving.

He has scored 113 goals with PSG and Inter Miami since departing the Catalan side.

Messi has also bagged 115 goals with the Argentina national team, the second-most goals of any male player in international football history. He has also scored twice in the Olympics for Argentina, but that competition is technically a youth tournament and therefore does not count towards his senior tally.

Figures correct as of March 11, 2026 via Transfermarkt.com.

Lionel Messi Barcelona goals

Lionel Messi PSG goals

Lionel Messi Inter Miami goals

MLS figures include both regular season and playoffs.

Lionel Messi Argentina goals

How Lionel Messi has scored his 900 career goals

Lionel Messi's stronger foot is his left, by which he's scored 756 of his 900 career goals.

He has still proven competent with his right, where he has eclipsed the century mark, while also getting 30 with his head.

Figures correct as of March 18, 2026 via MessiVsRonaldo.app.

Messi open play goals from outside penalty area

Figures correct as of March 18, 2026 via MessiVsRonaldo.app and do not include penalties or free-kicks

How many free-kicks has Lionel Messi scored?

According to MessiVsRonaldo.app, Lionel Messi has scored 70 free-kick goals in his career for both club and country.

This is six more than his rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who has bagged 64 free kicks in his career.

MORE: Top 10 all-time free-kick goals in football history

How many penalties has Lionel Messi scored?

According to MessiVsRonaldo.app, Lionel Messi has scored 112 goals from the penalty spot in his career for both club and country.

He has taken 144 penalties overall, giving him a 77.8% success rate, which is just a hair below the typical 80% success rate that is considered the norm for penalty takers.

Most goals scored by a professional football player

Lionel Messi is second all-time in career goals scored for club and country, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo who is chasing 1,000 goals.

The Sporting News reached out to FIFA to confirm the list, but the world governing body said it does not keep an official list of the statistics of the goals scored by individual players. That hasn't stopped other outlets, including Goal.com, from listing the following top 10 "FIFA-recognized goals" totals.

One player who claims to have over 1,000 goals is Brazilian icon Pele, but many of his bloated tally came in club friendlies and exhibition matches, which are not counted by official statistics. Pele has staked claim to over 1,200 goals over the course of his career, but only 757 of which have been verified in competitive action or verified international friendlies.

Stats correct as of March 18, 2026.