Published on 11:44 AM, December 11, 2017

Messi equals historic Gerd Muller goal record

Lionel Messi. Photo: Reuters File

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi has equalled German great Gerd Muller’s long standing record of scoring the most number of goals for a single club.

Muller’s record of 525 goals for Bayern Munich from 572 appearances, which he scored between 1965 and 1979, had stood for 40 years.

Messi’s goal against Villarreal saw him equal Muller’s tally. Villarreal gave the ball away to Sergio Busquets and the midfielder found Messi hovering close to the box. Messi dribbled to escape through the gap between two Villarreal defenders before scoring with utmost ease.

Messi is also the highest goal scorer in La Liga with 362 goals. The Argentine has scored 49 goals for Barcelona this year, which is more than any other player from the top five European leagues in 2017, according to Opta.