10 iconic images from Lionel Messi's career

10) Messi’s 500^th goal – the perfect script

Messi’s 500^th goal for Barcelona came via an injury-time winner in El Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu. Scripts cannot be written any better that this.

With the scoreline reading 2-2, Sergi Roberto’s run and Messi’s pin-point finish to beat Keylor Navas was a goal that shook La Liga. The Bernabeu was silenced once again as Messi wheeled away in celebration.

We then saw an uncharacteristic side to the Argentine forward as he took off his shirt and held it up to the fans. He had been elbowed, kicked around and thrown to the ground, even spitting out blood during that game. But he did not complain, he did not let if affect him.

As always, he let his feet do the talking. The celebration was his fitting reply to the jeers and unwarranted criticism directed at him; as if to say: “This is Lionel Messi. Remember my name.”

How can we ever forget?