Lionel Messi surpasses Neymar Jr and Landon Donovan to set a new record | OneFootball

Once again, Lionel Messi printed his name in the record book of football. Who else but Messi to surpass legends like Neymar Jr and Landon Donovan while playing his last moments of football with his national squad.

Before this happened, the Herons’ captain was part of the lineup that defeated Atlanta United by a score of 4-0, with two goals from the eight-time Ballon d’Or.

With his recent performance, the 38-year-old star is the favourite in the race for the MLS MVP, making him the first player to win it two consecutive years.

Once that happens, Lionel Messi will have written his name in MLS history. Nevertheless, let’s get back to the new achievement of Messi against Puerto Rico.

Lionel Messi became the footballer with the most international assists

Yes, none other than Lionel Messi could become the best player in a statistic. On Tuesday night, Argentina faced Puerto Rico in a friendly match to prepare for the 2026 World Cup. A match that coaches used to try new players and see how they perform in their personal scheme.

Typically, in friendly matches like these, players already expected to participate in the next World Cup receive fewer minutes than those still competing for a spot. This was the reason why Messi was able to play against the Five Stripe on Saturday night, despite having an encounter against Venezuela the night before.

Javier Mascherano spoke with Lionel Scaloni, who confirmed he would field the Herons’ captain against Puerto Rico instead of Venezuela.

Once the clash against the blue hurricane started, the reigning World Cup champions did what they know best: crush a team with all their forces.

The game ended 6-0 in favour of the Albiceleste with two assists from Lionel Messi, but no goals from him, which is rare considering he is going through a good scoring streak.

However, with those assists, Lionel Messi surpasses Landon Donovan and Neymar Jr, and became the footballer with the most international assists. This achievement counts for every game related to the national squad.

Messi ended the game against Puerto Rico with 60 assists, beating the 58 assists of the US legend and the Brazilian superstar.

What’s truly remarkable is not just that he broke this record, but that he is now only two assists away from reaching the 400 mark, poised to become the first footballer ever to achieve this milestone. Messi currently has 398 key passes.