- The Washington Times - Thursday, December 24, 2020

Lionel Messi made history on Tuesday, slotting home his 644th goal for Barcelona — surpassing Pele as the all-time leading goal scorer for a single club. With those 644 goals, Messi has made life difficult for plenty of goalkeepers.

So Messi is offering a toast in their honor.

Budweiser is sending a custom beer bottle to all 160 goalkeepers Messi has scored past. For some, they’ll receive nearly an entire case of beer. Messi slotted 21 goals past former Valencia goalkeeper Diego Alves, and another 18 against Gorka Iraizoz, the former Athletic Bilbao shot-stopper.

Gianluigi Buffon, the legendary Italian goalkeeper, had long boasted a perfect record against Messi. But then the Argentine scored twice against Buffon in 2017 — so Buffon received two Budweiser bottles, labeled No. 514 and 515.

The 33-year-old Messi has played for Barcelona’s first team since 2004. He’s won six Ballon D’Or awards, five Golden Boots and four Champions League medals. In La Liga, he’s led Barcelona to 10 league titles. Along the way, he has 644 goals, breaking Pele’s long-standing record with a single club.

• Andy Kostka can be reached at akostka@washingtontimes.com.

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