LIONEL MESSI - 100+ GOALS IN 3 DECADES

• Aug 12, 2023
• History Statistics

Messi, 5th player ever with 100+ goals in 3 decades

Lionel Messi has become the 5th player in the world football history to score 100+ top level goals in three different decades. 
The previous four who managed to do such feat are Alfredo Di Stéfano, Ferenc Puskás, Pelé and Romário.
Messi has scored 169 goals in the 1st decade of XXI century (2001-2010) and then blossomed in 2nd decade (2011-2020) with fantastic 546 goals.
As for the 3rd decade, today’s goal for Inter Miami in the Leagues’ Cup quarterfinal vs Charlotte (4-0) became just his 100th.
Cristiano Ronaldo should become 6th player in this category pretty soon. He has 86 goals in 3rd decade at the moment.
The details with a breakdown by tournaments for each player are in the table below.

	100+ GOALS    IN 3	DECADES
	Player	Decade	NL	RL	NC	OC	IP	MI	OI	NT	OS	Total
	Alfredo Di Stéfano	1941-1950	97		6			4	2	6		115
	Argentina	1951-1960	217		23			37	18	20		315
	Spain	1961-1970	60		25			13		3		101
	Ferenc Puskás	1941-1950	245						8	41		294
	Hungary	1951-1960	172		33			17	10	43		275
	Spain	1961-1970	98		36			21				155
	Pelé	1951-1960	2	172		19	6			26		225
	Brazil	1961-1970	65	266		30		26		50		437
		1971-1980	71	28						1		100
	Romário	1981-1990	65	63	6		2	9		10	7	162
	Brazil	1991-2000	145	115	32	29		40		41		402
		2001-2010	101	55	13	13		5		4		191
	Lionel Messi	2001-2010	105		11	5		33		15		169
	Argentina	2011-2020	346		42	9		93		56		546
		2021-2030	45		3	1		11	8	32		100

Abbreviatures:
NL – National League,
RL – Regional League (Carioca for Romário, Paulista for Pelé),
NC – National Cup (main),
OC – other (domestic) cups,
IP – Inter-Provincial competitions (championship for states in Brazil),
MI – major international tournaments (established by UEFA and CONMEBOL),
OI – other (relevant) international tournaments,
NT – National Team,
OS – other (relevant) selections (Brazil Olympic team for Romário on 1988 Olympic Games)