Mo Salah beats Messi & Ronaldo to amazing international record with Egypt | OneFootball

Mohamed Salah has now reached 100 goal contributions for Egypt and he managed to reach that landmark in fewer games than both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Following his goal and assist against the Ivory Coast, the 33-year-old now has 65 goals and 35 assists in 111 international appearances.

In football history, here are the 10 fastest players to reach 100 international goal contributions and where Salah now ranks.

1. Pele – 77 games

To this day, Pele still holds the record.

Amazingly, it only took the Brazilian icon 77 games to reach 100 goal contributions on the international stage.

The only active player who stands much of a chance of breaking the record is Erling Haaland, who has produced 61 goal contributions in 48 games for Norway.

2. Neymar – 94 games

It took Neymar more games than Pele to reach 100 goal contributions, but he managed to do it at a younger age.

Neymar produced his 100th international goal contribution when he was just 26 years old, which is the youngest of any player on this list.

He was electric during his early Selecao years – just ask Ruben Amorim.

3. Mo Salah – 111 games

Salah has made history by becoming the fastest African player to reach 100 goal contributions, taking just 111 games to reach the landmark figure.

He’s produced five goal contributions in four games during AFCON 2025 so far and looks sharp heading into the semi-final.

4. Romelu Lukaku – 113 games

Lukaku often ranks well in these international lists, largely thanks to his prolific record for Belgium.

He’s his nation’s top scorer with 89 goals and he only needed 113 games to reach 100 goals and assists – making him the fastest European player to ever reach the milestone.

5. Luis Suarez – 116 games

Suarez retired from international duty in 2024 as Uruguay’s all-time top scorer.

He’s also been an elite chance creator during his career, having racked up an impressive 39 assists for Uruguay.

6. Lionel Messi – 122 games

For many, he’s the best of all time, but five players managed to reach 100 G/A in fewer games than Messi.

It’s worth stressing that Messi has now surpassed every player in the top five of this article, now boasting an impressive 176 goal contributions in 196 games.

7. Ali Daei – 123 games

Daei once held the record as the all-time top scorer in international football and was the first player to ever reach 100 goals on the international stage.

Taking him just 123 games to reach 100 goals and assists, he still holds the record as the fastest Asian player to reach that milestone.

8. Robert Lewandowski – 128 games

Still going strong for Poland at the ripe age of 37, it’s no surprise to see Lewandowski feature on this list.

He produced his 100th goal contribution for Poland during his 128th game when he was 33 years old.

Next up for Poland and Lewandowski is a World Cup qualifying playoff game against Albania.

=9. Cristiano Ronaldo – 136 games

Ronaldo is the highest-scoring player in international football history with a record 143 goals. He’s also produced an impressive 37 assists for Portugal too.

However, while Ronaldo currently holds the record, he wasn’t as quick off the mark as some of the other players on this list.

Given that he spent the first portion of his career playing as a tricky winger, it’s not that surprising that he’s further down on this list.

In total, it took Ronaldo 136 games to reach 100 goal contributions for Portugal, reaching that tally when he turned 31.

=9. Miroslav Klose – 136 games

It took Klose the same number of matches as CR7 to reach the milestone, albeit Klose was five years older than Ronaldo when making his 136th appearance for Germany.

The German still holds the record as the highest scoring player in World Cup history with 16 goals, although Kylian Mbappe is rapidly chasing down that record.