Lionel Messi Breaks Unthinkable Record—What This Means for His Rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo Will Shock You

Lionel Messi may have stepped away from international duty with Argentina, but that reality hardly excuses him from continuing to write soccer history with Inter Miami. With his latest assist, the forward outpaced long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo to become the first player in modern professional soccer history to reach 1,350 career goal contributions.

Inter Miami traveled to Soldier Field to face the Chicago Fire in MLS action, seeking to close the gap on Nashville SC in the race for the 2026 Supporters’ Shield. However, Robert Lewandowski opened the scoring for the home side with an acrobatic finish in the 10th minute.

Despite testing the defense on multiple long-range efforts, Messi was repeatedly denied by Chicago goalkeeper Chris Brady, who turned aside four shots from the Argentine playmaker throughout the night. However, in the 48th minute, Messi whipped in a corner kick from the left flank, connecting with Casemiro, who rose above his marker to head home the equalizer.

Despite the 1-1 draw, Messi’s latest setup officially pushed his career total to 1,350 combined goals and assists. The delivery to Casemiro represented his 423rd career assist, extending his record as the game’s all-time setup leader, alongside 927 official goals across 1,173 appearances for an average of 1.15 goal contributions per match.