JAKARTA - Lionel Messi became the second male player in history to score 900 goals in official matches after scoring in Inter Miami's match against Nashville SC in the second leg of the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup 16th round which ended 1-1, Thursday, March 19, 2026 WIB.
The first leg ended in a 0-0 draw so with a result of 1-1 it means Inter Miami was eliminated from the Concacaf Champions Cup based on the away goal rule. Cristian Espinoza's goal from Nashville, which answered Messi's early goal, was enough to decide.
After missing the chance to reach 900 goals in his last two matches, Messi wasted no time in the second leg.
He received a pass in the penalty area, cut to the left and then fired into the goal to give Inter Miami the lead in less than 10 minutes.
However, Espinoza scored in the middle of the second half with an extraordinary kick after a crisis in front of the goal.
Then, Inter Miami was unable to score the winning goal in the final minutes so their journey in the Concacaf Champions Cup ended.
After the match, Inter Miami manager Javier Mascherano said his team was disappointing, but there was still a lot of work to do for the team in the future.
"Obviously, this is a very sad night, full of disappointment. We had high hopes of advancing in this tournament."
"It was a very balanced game. Today we were ahead on the scoreboard. We had some chances to score one or two more goals, especially in the first half."
"Well, the match was clearly in danger because it was a very tight match against a tough opponent. Unfortunately, we conceded a goal after a series of somewhat unfortunate events."
"Things happen and we end up eliminated. The truth is that I don't blame the players at all. They gave their best and did everything possible. In the end, the person who is really responsible for this elimination is me," said Mascherano.
Nashville coach B.J. Callaghan paid tribute after the game to Messi who reached the 900-goal milestone
"Nine hundred goals, congratulations to him. He's the best," Callaghan said.
The Argentina captain joined Cristiano Ronaldo as the only male player to reach 900 goals. Ronaldo achieved the feat in September 2024.
Ronaldo has 965 goals and has made it clear that he wants to pass the 1,000-goal threshold before retiring. Messi needed 1,142 games to reach 900 goals, while Ronaldo needed 1,236 games to reach that figure.
Pele, a great Brazilian player, is third on the all-time goals list with 765 goals. Among active players, Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski is third far behind Ronaldo and Messi, with 690 goals.
Messi entered the match in the Concacaf Champions Cup with 899 goals since his professional debut with Barcelona on October 16, 2004.
Most of Messi's goals came from his time in Spain with Barcelona. He scored a total of 672 goals before adding to his goal tally with 81 goals at Inter Miami and 32 goals at Paris Saint-Germain. On the international stage, the 2022 World Cup champion has scored 115 goals for the Argentina National Team.
The most productive year in Messi's career was in 2012, when he scored a total of 91 goals for Barcelona and Argentina.
His recent goal-scoring efforts have earned him the 2025 MLS Golden Boot. He scored 29 goals throughout the regular season to become the league's top scorer.
He also won the 2025 MLS MVP award, becoming the first player to win the award consecutively.
However, Messi is no stranger to making history. The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner set a world record for the most goals scored in a calendar year when he scored 91 goals in 69 matches in 2012, scoring 79 goals for Barcelona and 12 goals for Argentina. He is also the fastest player to score 100 goals in the Champions League by doing so in 123 matches.
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