Lionel Messi 'honoured' to equal Xavi's appearance record for Barcelona

Lionel Messi has thanked his past and present teammates after matching Xavi's appearance record for Barcelona.

The Argentina international marked his 767th outing for Barca on Monday night with two goals in a routine 4-1 win over Huesca in La Liga.

Messi has a chance to overtake Xavi on Sunday when the Catalan giants, the club the 33-year-old has represented throughout his career to date, travel to Real Sociedad.

Before that trip, though, the six-time Ballon d'Or winner took to social media to air his delight at matching the record.

"It's a great honour to reach this number of games played with Barcelona," he wrote on Instagram.

"Thanks to all my teammates who have accompanied me over the years, and to my family and friends for always being by my side."

Messi has scored 20 La Liga goals this season, placing him two in front of Atletico Madrid's Luis Suarez at the top of the scoring charts.