Throwback To Messi 644: When Lionel Messi And Budweiser Celebrated Christmas By Sending Drinks To Goalkeepers Argentine Had Scored Against – News18

Last Updated:December 27, 2024, 20:43 IST

Days before Christmas 2020, Messi scored his 644th goal for Barcelona against Real Valladolid to break Pele’s record for the most strikes for a club. Budweiser marked the Argentine’s achivement by sending a bottle of beer to each goalkeeper Messi had scored against

In his illustrious career, both at the club and international level, Lionel Messi enthralled his fans with several memorable goals. In 2020, Messi had a unique gift for some of his opposition players. Days before Christmas, Messi scored his 644th goal for Barcelona against Real Valladolid and succeeded in breaking legendary Brazilian footballer Pele’s record for the most strikes for a club. To mark the achievement, Messi and one of his sponsors, Budweiser, came up with a unique plan. The idea involved sending a bottle of beer to each goalkeeper Messi had scored against for every single goal since earning his first strike for Barcelona in 2005. The number of bottles received by a goalkeeper was determined by how many times the Argentine legend had scored past them.

This resulted in 160 goalkeepers, including David de Gea, Hugo Lloris, Joe Hart and Alisson. Ex-Almeria and Valencia shot-stopper Diego Alves received the most among them with 21. Alves was followed by Gorka Iraizoz (18), Real Madrid legend Iker Casillas and Andres Fernandez (17 each) and Diego Lopez (14).

Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak and Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois received 10 and nine bottles respectively for the goals Messi had scored against them. In the Premier League, some of the big names to receive the gifts were Claudio Bravo, Edwin van der Sar, Petr Cech, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Bernd Leno, Manuel Almunia.

The bottles had a message that reportedly read, “This feat is made even more extraordinary given they were scored against the best keepers in the world. We know of no other competitors more worthy of celebrating. Kings aren’t made overnight.”

Legendary Italian goalie Gianluigi Buffon reacted to this never-seen-before gesture by sharing a post on X (formerly Twitter). “Thanks for the beers. I’ll take it as a compliment. We have had great battles over the years! Congratulations on breaking the 644 record Messi! it really is an unbelievable achievement. Cheers,” read the post shared by Buffon.

Messi’s illustrious stint at Barcelona came to an end in 2021 when he decided to move to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). Messi wrapped up his career in Paris last year and joined Major League Soccer (MLS) outfit Inter Miami. Messi has already won the Leagues Cup championship with the Herons.