LIONEL MESSI has equalled Cristiano Ronaldo’s tally of 696 goals for clubs in Europe’s top five leagues.
The Argentine bagged his latest strike in Paris Saint-Germain’s 2-0 victory over Angers last night.
Messi, 35, achieved the feat on his return to club action following his World Cup triumph last month.
Europe’s top five leagues are the Premier League, LaLiga, Ligue 1, the Bundesliga and Serie A.
He netted 672 goals in 778 appearances for former club Barcelona.
And he has since added a further 24 strikes in 54 PSG outings.
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This takes him to a remarkable 696 goals in 831 appearances for the two clubs.
Ronaldo has also scored 696 goals… but in 88 more matches.
After moving to Manchester United from Sporting Lisbon in 2003, he went on to bag 145 goals in 346 games across two spells.
He scored an astonishing 450 goals in 438 appearances for Real Madrid, before adding another 101 goals in 134 Juventus outings.
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This means that Ronaldo has scored 696 goals in 919 appearances in Europe’s top five leagues.
Having signed for Al-Nassr last month, the 37-year-old is unlikely to add more to his tally.
Reports circulated that his deal with the Saudi club contained a secret clause enabling him to join Newcastle, although they were subsequently denied.
Ronaldo and Messi have faced off on many memorable occasions during their illustrious careers – particularly while fighting for trophies at Real Madrid and Barcelona.
They could meet for a final time this month, when a Saudi all-star team consisting of players from Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal take on PSG in Riyadh on January 19.
Al-Nassr boss Rudi Garcia has confirmed that Ronaldo is set to take part in the match.
His debut for his new club is then set to take place three days later, when they take on Ettifaq on January 22.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
