Lionel Messi scores 900th goal, but Miami bounced from CCC

Lionel Messi became just the second men’s player in history to score 900 goals in official matches after scoring in Inter Miami’s 1-1 Concacaf Champions Cup second-leg draw with Nashville SC on Wednesday.

The first leg ended in a 0-0 draw, so Wednesday’s result means Miami is eliminated from the CCC on the away goals rule, as a strike by Nashville’s Cristian Espinoza proved decisive when he cancelled out the early goal from Messi to send his team through.

Editor’s Picks

2 Related

After missing the chance to hit 900 in his past two games, Messi wasted no time in the second leg, picking up a pass in the box, cutting to his left and then firing back across goal to give Miami the lead inside of 10 minutes.

But Espinoza scored midway through the second half with a superb strike following a scramble in front of the net, and Miami could not find a go-ahead goal in the closing minutes as its Champions Cup run came to an end.

After the game, Miami manager Javier Mascherano said his team was disappointed, but that there was still plenty of work for the team to do going forward.

“Clearly, it is a very sad night, full of disappointment. We had high hopes of advancing in the competition — a tie that was very evenly matched — and today we took the lead on the scoreboard,” Mascherano said. “We had several chances to score another goal or two, especially in the first half. Well, the match was clearly in jeopardy, as it was a very tight contest against a formidable opponent.

“Regrettably, we conceded a goal following a somewhat unfortunate sequence of events; things happen, and we ended up getting knocked out. The reality is that I have absolutely nothing to reproach the players for. They gave their absolute maximum and did everything humanly possible; ultimately, the person truly responsible for this elimination is me.”

Nashville coach B.J. Callaghan paid tribute to Messi after the game, saying: “900 goals, congratulations to him. He’s the best.”

The Argentina captain joined Cristiano Ronaldo as the only men’s players to reach 900 goals with his strike Wednesday. Ronaldo achieved the feat in September 2024.

Ronaldo has 965 goals and has made it clear he wants to clear the 1,000-goal threshold before retiring. It took Messi 1,142 games to get to 900, while Ronaldo needed 1,236 matches to reach the mark.

Brazilian great Pele stands third on the all-time list with 765. Among active players, Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski is a distant third behind Ronald and Messi, with 690.

Messi went into Wednesday’s match with 899 goals since his professional debut with Barcelona on Oct. 16, 2004.

The majority of Messi’s goals come from his time in Spain with Barcelona. He totaled 672 before adding to his tally with 81 at Inter Miami and 32 at Paris Saint-Germain. Internationally, the reigning World Cup champion has recorded 115 goals for the Argentina national team.

The most prolific year of Messi’s career came in 2012, when he scored a combined 91 goals for Barcelona and Argentina.

His recent goal-scoring efforts propelled him to the 2025 MLS Golden Boot; he netted 29 goals throughout the regular-season campaign to become the league’s top scorer. He also earned the 2025 MLS MVP award, becoming the first player to win the award on consecutive occasions.

But Messi is no stranger to making history. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner set the world record for most goals scored in a single calendar year when he netted 91 in 69 games in 2012, scoring 79 for Barcelona and 12 for Argentina. He also stands as the fastest player to score 100 goals in the Champions League by doing so in 123 games.