FLASH: Messi breaks Pele’s international goalscoring record
Argentine star Lionel Messi broke football legend Pele international goalscoring record in a World Cup qualifying match against Bolivia on Thursday.
Pele, the legendary Brazilian, netted 77 international goals for Brazil during his career, holding the highest goalscorer’s record in South America until Messi broke the record.
The PSG talisman overtook Pele by scoring a hat-trick at the Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires Thursday night.
Messi, 34, gave Argentina the opener 14 minutes into the game.
The six-time Ballon d’Or winner doubled Argentina’s lead in the 64th minute. He got his third goal in the 78th minutes of the game, recording his seventh hat-trick for Argentina.
With 79 international goals, Messi now holds the highest goal scoring record in South American international football history.
“I was really anxious, and I really wanted to enjoy it. I’ve waited a long time for this, I went for it, and I dreamt about it. It’s a unique moment for the way it came about, after waiting so long,” Messi said after the game.
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette
Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices
Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”
Abuja
FCT-IRS engages MDAs, says new portal will ease tax compliance
The chairman noted that the FCT-IRS would continue to prioritise voluntary tax compliance over punitive measures.
Heading 4
Emefiele: I transferred N5 billion into firms’ accounts without due process, EFCC witness tells courtÂ
Mr Agulu told the court that because the transaction was a peculiar situation he did not operate within Zenith Bank operational policy procedures.
States
Gov. Zulum approves N1.6 billion for Borno students’ scholarship payments nationwide
The executive secretary commended Mr Zulum for prioritising education despite prevailing challenges.
NationWide
75% pass NABTEB technical college entrance examination amid 48% enrolment drop
Mr Mohammed said enrolment dropped significantly, with 15,290 candidates registering for the examination compared to 29,260 candidates recorded in 2025.
Economy
NRGI urges Nigeria to focus on mining sector, reduce investor risk
A report by the Natural Resource Governance Institute says Nigeria should focus on reducing investor risk in the mining sector.
NationWide
Northern alliance lauds Tinubu, armed forces’ efforts in killing bandits, rescuing hostages
Mr Abutu noted the rescue of 416 residents of Ngoshe community in the Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State by troops of Operation Hadin Kai.
