Despite possessing arguably the most decorated career in football history Lionel Messi has continued to reach mind-blowing landmarks.

The 35-year-old PSG star continued his impressive second campaign in the French capital by connecting with Nuno Mendes‘ cross to open the scoring after just twelve minutes at the Parc des Princes.

Christophe Galtier‘s side faced stern resistance from Les Canaris, but ultimately continued their return to domestic form to triumph 4-2 and extend their lead at the top of Ligue 1 to eleven points.

However, the opener also came with some personal significance for Messi, as it marked the 1000th goal that he has either scored or assisted since making his senior debut back in 2003.

As he approaches two decades as a professional, Messi has scored 701 goals in senior football, with a further 299 assists to collectively reach the four-figure landmark.

Lionel Messi reached 1000 career goals and assists with his opener for PSG in their win over Nantes

Since debuting in 2003, the 35-year-old is the first player in the modern era in Europe’s top five leagues to achieve such a feat

The only other player at the elite level in the modern era to be even close to such an achievement is Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ronaldo has long been compared to the 35-year-old, with the pair regularly facing off on opposites sides of El Classico throughout the last decade, but the Portuguese striker remains significantly behind his younger counterpart, with 912 goal involvements in his illustrious career.

Despite struggling by his impressive standards during his maiden campaign in France, Messi has enjoyed a much stronger showing this year having already reached 35 goal contributions in all competitions for the Parisian club.

After having international honours elude him for much of his career, Messi also reached the pinnacle of football with the national team by leading Argentina to a dramatic victory against France in the World Cup Final in December.

Cristiano Ronaldo needs an additional 88 goal involvements to reach the landmark

SRC: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/