Lionel Messi news: Barcelona star creates Copa del Rey history

What's the story?

Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi created history by becoming the first player to score in six Copa del Rey finals.

In case you didn't know...

Valencia prevented Barcelona from winning their second trophy of the season as they beat the Blaugrana 2-1 in the final of the Copa del Rey on Saturday.

Kevin Gameiro gave the Murciélagos the lead during the 21st minute of the game, which was doubled by former Real Madrid player Rodrigo 12 minutes later.

Barcelona tried to get back into the game after going two down and decreased Valencia's advantage to just one goal through Lionel Messi's strike in the 73rd minute. But it couldn't stop the underdogs from clinching their eighth Copa del Rey trophy.

Speaking after the game, Barcelona's coach Ernesto Valverde said that his team has failed to fulfil their expectations this season.

"I feel good, but when you win, you are happier. "The reading of the game is different from the one we played 15 days ago, but the reality is that we have lost again.

"We have not fulfilled the expectations created. We thought about the treble and we lost ourselves on the road at the decisive moment. It is evident that we are here to win titles.

"I'm fine, what we – the coaches – want is a rematch, to fight to have a challenge ahead.

"I know that losing is hard, something has failed. This responsibility is difficult and it has to be assumed."

The heart of the matter

Lionel Messi became the first player to score in six Copa del Rey finals as he scored Barcelona's only goal in their 2-1 defeat against Valencia in the final of this year's edition of the competition.

The Argentine got one better of the Atletic Bilbao legend, Telmo Zarra, who scored in five Copa del Rey finals between 1942 and 1950.

Although, Lionel Messi still has a long way to go if he aspires to be the all-time leading goalscorer in the competition, and his 50 goals put him only at the sixth position on the list.

Lionel Messi is the first player in history to score in six different Copa del Rey finals:✓ 2009✓ 2012✓ 2015✓ 2017✓ 2018✓ 2019One might not be enough tonight. 🍿 pic.twitter.com/rVac2r05wt

— Squawka Football (@Squawka) May 25, 2019

What's next?

The 31-year-old will now head to Brazil to join his teammates for the 46th edition of Copa America, which commences from June 15.