Pele has given his congratulations to Lionel Messi for breaking one of his most impressive records.
The Brazilian wrote the message on Instagram on Saturday, after the Barcelona legend scored in their 2-2 draw with Valencia at the Nou Camp.
Messi headed home the rebound after seeing his penalty saved by Valencia goalkeeper Jaume Domenech and Jordi Alba's shot deflected. This was his 643rd goal for the Blaugrana, as well as 450th in La Liga.
The former means that the Argentine is now equal with Pele for the most goals scored for a single club. Pele hit the same number for Brazilian giants Santos.
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After the match, Pele wrote on Instagram: "When your heart overflows with love, it is difficult to
change your path. Like you, I know what it's like to love wearing the
same shirt every day. Like you, I know that there is nothing better than
the place we feel at home.
"Congratulations on your historic record, Lionel. But above all, congratulations on your beautiful career at Barcelona. Stories like ours, of loving the same club for so long, unfortunately will be increasingly rare in football. I admire you very much, @leomessi."
Despite equalling the record, Messi may not be pleased with how the match went on Saturday. Barcelona continued their poor start to the season, going behind to Valencia before his goal and then going on to surrender the lead that they took later in the match.
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Manager Ronald Koeman has seen a slight revival in his team's fortunes, moving from mid-table to fifth in La Liga.
However, they are still eight points behind leaders Atletico Madrid - who also have a game in hand on the Catalan side.
Topics: Football News, Football, Barcelona, Lionel Messi, Pele
