Will Messi reach 1,000 goals before Ronaldo?

Superstar Lionel Messi is on the verge of conquering a rare historical milestone in world football: reaching 1,000 goals in his professional career.

Messi could reach the milestone of 1,000 career goals. Photo: Reuters .

Currently, the Argentinian superstar is still more than 100 goals away from reaching this milestone. However, given his current form, that prospect is entirely realistic.

To date, Messi has scored a total of 896 goals at club and national team level in 1,137 matches. At the age of 38, he recently extended his contract with Inter Miami in October 2025, running until the end of the 2028 MLS season.

This means Messi could continue playing at the highest level until he is 41 years old, provided he doesn't experience any major physical or motivational setbacks.

Since joining Inter Miami in July 2023, Messi has maintained an impressive goal-scoring record. On average, he scores around 36 goals per season for both his club and the Argentine national team, including 77 goals for Inter Miami and 12 for the national team.

However, Messi's future at the national team level remains uncertain. In an interview with ESPN , he did not commit to participating in the 2026 World Cup. If he no longer plays internationally, Messi's goal tally per season is likely to decrease.

Messi is currently Inter Miami's top scorer. Photo: Reuters .

However, even considering only his time playing for Inter Miami, if Messi maintains his current consistent goal-scoring performance, he could very well reach 1,000 goals by the end of the 2028 season, which is also the final year of his current contract with the American team.

According to ESPN , the chances of Messi reaching 1,000 goals before his colleague Cristiano Ronaldo are quite low. Currently, CR7 has 957 career goals. If he maintains his current scoring rate, the Portuguese striker could reach 1,000 goals as early as 2026.

Regardless of the outcome, there's no denying that Messi and Ronaldo together shaped a glorious era of world football.

Chaos ensued as Messi appeared in India. Indian fans became enraged and vandalized property when Lionel Messi made a brief appearance during the welcoming ceremony at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata.

Source: https://znews.vn/messi-can-moc-1000-ban-truoc-ronaldo-post1616373.html