LIONEL MESSI netted a stunning double as he celebrated equalling the legendary Xavi’s appearance record for Barcelona in style.
The Argentine superstar, 33, broke the deadlock with a thunderous 20-yard drive off the bar after just 13 minutes of La Liga clash with Huesca.
Lionel Messi celebrated another Barcelona record with a thunderous goal against HuescaCredit: AP
A banner was unfurled before kick off to mark Messi’s joint-record 767 appearanceCredit: EPA
He later rounded off the scoring in the 4-1 win as well as teeing up youngster Oscar Mingueza García and Antoine Griezmann on a memorable night.
That was the ideal way to mark his latest outing on the pitch pulling him level alongside Xavi as Barca’s all-time appearance maker with a total of 767 matches.
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And, after rewriting his latest piece of club history, Messi wrote on Instagram: “It is a great honour to play this many games for Barcelona.
“Thank you to all my team-mates who played alongside me throughout the years, and to my family and friends for always being by my side.”
Messi could easily have been playing elsewhere this season after attempting to force a move away last summer.
But after Barcelona won the legal row over a release clause in his contract, he returned to match Xavi’s total of 17 consecutive seasons playing at the Nou Camp.
And the former Spanish midfielder, who is currently manager of Al Sadd in Qatar, could not be happier for his ex-teammate.
He told Mundo Deportivo: “You could see that Leo would end up surpassing me.
“If he did not leave Barca it was clear that he would add many more games and he is still young to continue playing, he has a lot of football left, so he can play many more games.”
Xavi continued: “It had to be Leo. It is fair that the best player in history is the one who has defended the Barca shirt the most times.”
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Xavi also has no doubts that the South American forward is the best player he ever shared the pitch with.
And he added that it is an ‘honour’ for his record to be taken by Messi.
Xavi said: “It is an honor that the best player in the world and for me in history is the one who surpasses me.
“Leo is like that, he’s insurmountable, you can’t compete with him because he always wins.”
He has equalled Xavi’s record of 767 matches for BarcelonaCredit: Reuters
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
