How long until Lionel Messi will reach 900 goals & will he do it quicker than Ronaldo?
Lionel Messi scored another brace last night for Inter Miami, taking his career total to 884 goals for club and country.
That means the Argentine forward is only 16 strikes away from reaching the 900 landmark, but will he achieve that feat in less games than Cristiano Ronaldo?
Ronaldo scored his 900th career goal in September last year while playing for Portugal in the Nations League.
The Portuguese forward took the goal well and became emotional during the celebrations, realising that he’d hit such a landmark figure.
“It was emotional because it’s a milestone,” Ronaldo said after the game.
“It seems like any other milestone but only I know, and the people around me, how hard it is to work every day, to be physically and psychologically fit, to score 900 goals.
“It’s a unique milestone in my career.”
In total, it took him 1,236 games to reach 900 goals, averaging a strike every 112.05 minutes during that time.
When looking at Messi’s current tally, it seems almost gaurenteed that he’ll reach the 900 goal landmark in fewer matches than it took Ronaldo.
As of writing, he’s scored 884 goals in 1,124 appearances, meaning that he only needs to score 16 goals in his next 111 matches to reach 900 goals quicker than Ronaldo.
During 2025, Messi has been averaging a goal every 99 minutes for club and country, meaning that it will likely take him another 18 matches before he reaches 900 goals.
Inter Miami only have five remaining league matches between now and the end of the season, but they could play another six games if Messi’s side reach the MLS Cup final.
It’s also worth considering that Argentina will play four friendly matches between now and the end of the calendar year.
That means that Messi will play a maximum of 15 more matches between now and the end of 2025, although it’s unlikely that he will feature in every single game.
If he does want to reach 900 career goals before the end of 2025 and he plays 15 more matches, he’ll need to score a goal every 84 minutes between now and the end of the calendar year.
Of course, Messi is more than capable of doing that, although it would require him to remain injury-free and Inter Miami to reach the MLS Cup final.
In all likelihood, Messi will probably reach 900 goals during the opening months of 2026, when the MLS season gets back underway.
However, regardless of whether he scores his 900th goal before the end of the year, he’ll almost certainly do it in fewer matches than it took Ronaldo.
CR7 himself is currently chasing down his next milestone, with 1,000 career goals firmly in his sights at the moment.
As of writing, he’s scored 945 career goals, meaning that he needs another 55 strikes to reach the landmark figure.
Theoretically, Messi will also be in a better postion to reach 1,000 goals in fewer matches than Ronaldo, although it’s unclear whether or not the Argentine forward will hang up his boots before gunning for that record.
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