Watch: Messi scores his 800th goal with this wonderful free kick vs Panama

Messi is now one short of the 100-goal mark for the national squad.

Messi 800 goals, Argentina's Lionel Messi, friendly soccer match, Argentina vs Panama, Messi 800 goals

Argentina's Lionel Messi in action. (FILE)

Argentina World Cup-winning star Lionel Messi-mania was all over the place in Buenos Aires where Argentina beat Panama 2-0 on Thursday in a friendly match that was essentially a celebration of their World Cup victory last December.

The world champions dominated the game, they didn’t get a goal until the 78th minute when Thiago Almada scored after a free kick by Messi hit the goal post.

Ten minutes later, it was Messi’s turn and he scored the 800th goal of his professional career with a perfectly executed free kick. He is now one short of the 100-goal mark for the national squad.

Messi scores his 800th goal with this wonderful free kick. 🐐

pic.twitter.com/SPCY6FRjTw

— All About Argentina 🛎🇦🇷 (@AlbicelesteTalk) March 24, 2023

Messi became the second-ever player to reach 800 goals and Ronaldo, who holds the all-time record for career goals (830), is the only other player that has reached 800 goals.

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Messi has been Argentina’s all-time leading goalscorer since 2016, when he scored against US from a free kick in the Copa América Centenario.

After the match, the celebrations got into full swing and Messi took center stage, smiling from ear to ear as he received awards and accolades.“I want to thank you for all the love we’ve been receiving . . . We told you we were going to do everything possible to win this,” a visibly emotional Messi said as he was handed the microphone. “Let’s enjoy this because we went a long time without winning it, and we don’t know when we’ll win it again.”

At the club level, Messi has scored 701 goals, including 493 in domestic league play. With two more goal contributions (a goal or an assist) at the club level, Messi will become the first player to ever reach 1,000 goal contributions.

Messi has made a record 173 senior appearances for Argentina in his career. In 2022, he won his first-ever FIFA World Cup and Argentina’s first since 1986.