Barcelona win over Valladolid, Messi sets record

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) - Barcelona beat Valladolid 3-0 late Tuesday as Argentine superstar Lionel Messi had a historic day to set a legend's goal-scoring record.

Messi scored the third goal in Tuesday's match against Valladolid, tallying 644 goals for single a club as the 33-year-old forward broke the record of Brazilian legend Pele.

"When I started to play football, I never thought I would break any record. Especially not the record held by Pele that I now hold," Messi said on social media.

In his Instagram post, the Argentine player also thanked his teammates, family and friends who helped him for years.

World-famous Pele scored 643 goals for Brazil's Santos in 1957-1974.

Pele on Saturday congratulated Barcelona superstar Messi as he equaled the ex-Brazil forward's scoring record for a single club.

Messi has dedicated his entire career to Barcelona, racking up 644 goals and 283 assists in 749 matches for the Spanish club.

A Barcelona player for more than a decade, Messi has helped his team win 10 La Liga and four Champions League titles, most recently in 2015.

Meanwhile, Clement Lenglet and Martin Braithwaite were the other scorers for Barcelona against Valladolid in Tuesday's match.

Valladolid are now in the relegation zone with 14 points.

Following the win, Barcelona boosted their points to 24 in 14 weeks to be in the fifth spot in the Spanish La Liga standings led by Atletico Madrid.

Atletico Madrid had a 2-0 win over Real Sociedad in the away match. "Los Rojiblancos" (The Red and Whites) have 32 points in 13 games played.

Real Sociedad come third with 26 points.