Messi pulls level with Gerd Muller's club goals record

Lionel Messi achieved another landmark on Sunday night as he scored the second goal for Barcelona in a 2-0 win over Villarreal.

That goal put Lionel Messi level with Gerd Muller's long-standing record for the most goals for one club in the top five European leagues.

Muller scored 525 goals in 572 appearances for Bayern Munich between 1965 and 1979, a record which had remained untouched for nearly 40 years.

Messi added his side’s second in the 83rd minute, taking his goal tally for Barca to 525 in 605 games.

It is not the first time that Messi has equaled or surpassed a record established by Muller. The Argentinean scored a record 91 goals combined in all competitions for Barcelona and the Argentina national side in 2012, shattering the mark of 85 tallied by Muller for Bayern and Germany in 1972.

The goal was also Messi's 14th goal in La Liga this season and his 18th in all competitions for his club.

In total, he has now scored 49 goals for Barcelona this year, which is more than any other player from the top five European leagues in 2017.

Messi is already the top scorer in Barcelona (525) and La Liga history (362) but is behind Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo when it comes to the Champions League. Ronaldo leads the way with 114, while Messi has scored 97.

(CGTN)