Inter Miami star Lionel Messi joins Cristiano Ronaldo in 900-goal club, but Nashville spoil milestone night

Inter Miami star Lionel Messi scored his 900th career goal in Wednesday's CONCACAF Champions Cup clash against Nashville SC.

After the two sides played out a goalless draw in Nashville, Messi required just seven minutes to break the deadlock in the second leg at Chase Stadium.

The 38-year-old collected Sergio Reguilon's low ball into the box before he worked the space to drill a left-foot shot past Brian Schwake. 

The effort will always be remembered as the strike that took Messi to 900 goals for club and country.

However, the milestone was somewhat soured by Cristian Espinoza's 74th-minute equaliser, which rescued a 1-1 draw for Nashville and condemned Inter Miami to a last-16 exit on away goals. 

ZURDAZO del 10 para abrir el marcador ?⚽️
pic.twitter.com/BeIBPLEchG

— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) March 18, 2026

Messi joins Ronaldo in the 900 club

Despite their team's elimination, the Inter Miami faithful still witnessed a historic night at Chase Stadium as Messi became just the second player to reach 900 career goals. 

Messi's old foe, Cristiano Ronaldo, became the first player to reach the 900 club when he scored for Portugal in a Nations League clash against Croatia in 2024. 

The Argentine required fewer games to reach the signicant milestone, netting his 900th goal in 1,142 matches, compared to the 1,236 games it took Ronaldo to hit the landmark.

Ronaldo has gone on to take his total to 965 goals and has previously expressed a desire to reach 1,000 before he retires.

With that in mind, Messi still has plenty of work to do if he wants to overtake Ronaldo as the leading goalscorer in football history.

LIONEL MESSI REACHES 900 GOALS IN HIS LEGENDARY CAREER ⚽?? pic.twitter.com/Qh40C6nU6n

— Golazo America (@GolazoAmerica) March 18, 2026

Messi goalscoring stats broken down

Unsurprisingly, Messi scored the majority of his 900-goal tally during his glory days at Barcelona, where he scored 672 times in 778 competitive appearances for the Blaugrana.

The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner netted 32 goals in 75 games for Paris Saint-Germain and has since racked up 81 goals in 92 matches as an Inter Miami player.

Meanwhile, Messi is Argentina's all-time leading scorer with 115 goals in 196 appearances for his country, including seven in Argentina's triumphant 2022 World Cup campaign. 

With 38 goals in 43 matches, Sevilla are the team that Messi has scored the most goals against, followed by Atletico Madrid (32), Valencia (31), Athletic Bilbao (29), Real Madrid and Real Betis (26)