Lionel Messi goes past Cristiano Ronaldo to script record with brace for Inter Miami

With his brace for Inter Miami against the New York Red Bulls on Saturday, Lionel Messi has now broken Cristiano Ronaldo's record for most non-penalty goals in the 21st century.

Lionel Messi's 6th brace in the last seven games for Inter Miami took him over Cristiano Ronaldo's record of 763 non-penalty goals. Messi, who first equalled the record with his first goal of the night, went past the Portuguese with his second. Astonishingly, Messi has achieved the record in 167 fewer matches than Ronaldo.

What happened in the match?

Inter Miami scripted a great comeback win against the New York Red Bulls as Lionel Messi scored and assisted twice for them. The hosts took the lead in the 15th minute of the game. However, Messi linked up with his former Barcelona teammate Jordi Alba in the 24th minute to equalise.

Three minutes later, Messi again turned out to be the provider as Segovia's goal gave Inter Miami the lead. Segovia scored his brace in the added minute of the first half.

Messi then scored two goals in the second half, both from open play, to surpass Cristiano Ronaldo's record. With already 18 goals this season in MLS, Messi is now the joint top scorer of the season.

The Argentine now has 58 goals and 26 assists in 68 games since joining the club in the summer of 2023.

Messi vs Ronaldo: Non-penalty goals

Although both Messi and Ronaldo are not playing in Europe, they are constantly compared to each other, even at their age.

Since joining Major League Soccer, Messi has scored 58 goals, but only two of them have come from a penalty. In the meantime, Ronaldo, who has 93 goals and 11 assists in 105 games with Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr, has scored 25 penalty goals.

Here is a detailed comparison between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in terms of non-penalty goals.