Lionel Messi reaches 100 goals in 115 Inter Miami games: How many matches did it take him with Barcelona and Argentina?

Lionel Messi has once again written his name on soccer history, this time with Inter Miami by reaching 100 goals, the first ever player to do so at the MLS franchise. By reaching the landmark in 115 games at the Herons, questions rose on how many games did the legendary forward take to do the same at FC Barcelona and Argentina national team.

Competing for the 2026 Campeones Cup against Cruz Azul, Messi turned once again into the star to wheigh the balance on Inter Miami’s favor. He scored the opening goal with a stunning header, meaning his 100th goal for the Herons, and closed the performance with an assist for Casemiro to close the 2-0 scoreline.

This has turned into the third time Messi reached 100 goals with a team following what he has done at FC Barcelona and Argentina, only falling short at PSG scoring 32 goals in 75 games. However, when it comes to the pace, his milestone with the Herons, despite being in the twilight of his career, ended up marking a new record for him.

When did Messi reach 100 goals at Barcelona?

Product from La Masia as a talented left-footed right winger, Lionel Messi didn’t begin his journey at Barcelona expected to be a prolific goalscorer. In fact, he began as a dribbler and a playmaker, but he has exponentially increased his numbers with a predominant role with Pep Guardiola as a coach, exploiting as a false 9.

This has led him to pick up the pace from his debut back in 2004 and reach 100 goals with Barcelona back in January 16, 2010, needing 188 games with the Blaugrana to do so. It was on Matchday 18 of the 2009-10 La Liga season, where he scored a brace against Sevilla in a 4-0 win, reaching the 100th goal milestone after connecting with a cross from Dani Alves, as well as being the youngest player in the history of the club to reach that mark with 22 years and 6 months old.

In his first seasons at Barcelona, Messi’s goal ratio didn’t even reach half the amount of games he performed per season. Already for the 09-10, he was on the run to be a historic goalscorer, concluding that season with 47 goals in 53 games with the Blaugrana, taking it to almost one goal per game.

When did Messi hit 100 goals at Argentina?

Having claimed the 2021 Copa America and the 2022 World Cup, Messi had already surpassed Gabriel Batistuta’s record as Argentina national team goalscorer with 56 goals. However, the at that moment still PSG player kept on extending his mark with the national team until the 100 goal landmark.

He reached 100 goals with the Argentina national team back on March 28, 2023, taking him a total of 174 caps with the Albiceleste to do so. At that moment, the captain scored the opening goal in a friendly against Curacao, which meant his 100th goal with the national team, and concluded with a first-half hat-trick in this match, finishing the game with 102 international goals in a 7-0 win.

Taking into account all his milestones across three different teams, his most recent milestone at Inter Miami, reaching 100 goals in 115 games, ended up being the quickest time Lionel Messi hit the century of goals for a team, with Argentina second in 174 caps, and last Barcelona, where he needed 188 games.