BARCELONA, Messi breaks Müller's record

© foto di Acero/Alterphotos/Image Sport

Messi’s two goal against Betis took his year tally to 86 (with Barça and Argentina), equalling the record set by Gerd Müller in 1972 (with Bayern Munich and Germany). 

After the match, Messi said, “the record is great for what it means, but the most important thing is that the team won and that we maintained the distance with the teams behind us.” Messi, who was doubtful ahead of tonight’s match because of the knock he received in the game against Benfica, said, “I was eager to play after the scare on Wednesday.”

Despite making history tonight, Messi joked about the amount of goals he’s scored this year after the match. “I’ll try to score more goals to make it more difficult for the next player that tries to break it,” he said jokingly. Messi added: “When the year starts the objective is to win it all with the team, personal records are secondary.” The Blaugrana striker was then asked about the Ballon d’Or, a prize Andrés Iniesta is also a finalist for. “If Iniesta wins it, it will be totally deserved and it would make me very happy. It’s a title for the whole team.”

“Betis are a great team”

Messi also talked about the match against Betis. The Argentine declared that “Betis are a good team and it was an important victory, because it’s really hard to win here.” After his two goals, Betis fired back to come within one of Barça. “We went ahead early and Betis created chances, but we also could have scored more goals.”