DONE DEAL: Inter Miami Has signs Inter Milan Star For………..read more.
For many, Lionel Messi is considered the greatest footballer of all time. However, the question remains: how long will it take for the Argentine star to reach 1,000 career goals?
As of now, Messi has an impressive tally of 838 career goals, with 729 scored at club level and 109 for his national team.
At 37 years old, Messi may be nearing the end of his career, but his goal-scoring prowess remains strong. Since joining Inter Miami last year, he has continued to find the back of the net with ease.
Despite being asked about retirement in March, Messi stated that he hasn’t given it much thought. “The truth is I haven’t thought about it yet,” Messi said. “Today, I try to enjoy it day-by-day, enjoy every moment without thinking about it more than that. I don’t have anything clear yet but to keep playing, which is what I’d like to do for a while longer. When the moment arrives, surely I’ll find the path to whatever fills me with joy and it’ll be a new role.”
Messi has made it clear that he will decide to retire when he can no longer make a positive impact on the game. “The moment that I’m not at the level to deliver, that I’m not enjoying it, that I’m not helping my teammates,” Messi said. “Like I said before at the beginning, I’m very self-critical with myself. I know when I’m good or when I’m bad, when I play well or when I play badly, and when I feel that moment to take that step, I will without thinking about my age. If I feel good, I will always keep trying to compete because it’s what I like and what I know how to do.”
His contract with Inter Miami runs until December 2025, and the MLS club hopes he will extend his stay beyond that.
Analyzing Messi’s goal-scoring record, we can estimate how long it will take him to reach 1,000 career goals:
– Messi currently needs 162 more goals to hit the 1,000 mark.
– His injury record will play a crucial role in achieving this milestone. Since joining Inter Miami, he has missed 21 matches due to fitness and injury issues.
– In the 2023-24 season, Messi made 41 appearances, averaging a goal every 105 minutes. If he maintains this rate and plays a similar number of matches, it will take him just over five seasons to reach 1,000 goals, meaning he would need to play until he is at least 42 years old.
– At his peak in the 2011-12 season, Messi averaged a goal every 72 minutes. If he could replicate this form, it would take him 130 matches to reach 1,000 goals, though this seems unlikely at this stage of his career.
