Former Argentina international Gabriel Batistuta has admitted that it hurts a bit after Lionel Messi broke his goal-scoring record for the national team.
Messi eclipsed Batistuta’s record with his 55th international goal after netting a sublime free-kick in Tuesday’s 4-0 rout of host nation USA in Houston.
The Argentina captain was in fine form throughout, setting up Ezequiel Lavezzi for the opener before laying it off to Gonzalo Higuain for the side’s fourth late in the game.
Messi’s free-kick came in the 32nd minute of the contest at NRG Stadium to make it 2-0, hitting the set-piece of the underside of the crossbar, leaving Brad Guzan with no chance.
Speaking about his record last April, Batigol himself had this to say about Messi as he bore down on his overall scoring record: “I came to be the highest goalscorer of all time without even realising. One day I woke up and I heard I had scored more than Maradona.”
“It wasn’t a goal I set for myself. It wasn’t an objective or an obsession, because I never cared about statistics.”
Later, he added, “How could it not hurt me to see that record be broken? It is going to hurt when Messi breaks my record, but we are not talking about being beaten by any terrestrial being,” the 47-year-old explained.
Messi broke the record just three days short of his 29th birthday, however, Batistuta was nearly four years older when he scored his last goal for his country.
La Pulga’s left foot has been responsible for most of his goals, 50 in fact, 11 of those coming from the penalty spot and five from free-kicks. The No10 has scored three more with his right foot and the remaining two with his head, while his record-breaking strike was his 12th in the USA, the country where, along with his native Argentina, he has been most prolific.
Batistuta, who played his last game for his country against Sweden in the group phase at Korea/Japan 2002, a game that saw Argentina tumble out of the competition, does have something that Messi yearns for however: international titles. As well as winning the Copa America in 1991 and 1993, he also picked up a FIFA Confederations Cup winners medal in 1992.
In contrast La Pulga has played in and lost three finals: two in the Copa America, in 2007 and 2015, and the Final at Brazil 2014, where he collected a bittersweet adidas Golden Ball.
Messi has now struck eight times in the continental finals, with a further 26 coming in friendlies, 16 in FIFA World Cup qualifiers and five at the world finals, where the legendary Batistuta leads the way as Argentina’s top goalscorer with ten, another mark Messi will one day hope to break.
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