Lionel Messi could join Cristiano Ronaldo by reaching incredible landmark in next league game

Lionel Messi is just one goal away from becoming the second player in history after Cristiano Ronaldo to score 700 club goals.

The Argentina icon scored a 95th-minute free-kick to help Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) beat LOSC Lille Metropole 4-3 on Sunday (19 February). The win saw them restore their five-point lead at the top of the table after 24 games.

Lionel Messi is now just one goal away from scoring a historic 700th goal at the club level. He scored 672 times for Barcelona in 778 career games and has scored 27 times for PSG in 61 games across competitions so far.

Cristiano Ronaldo became the first professional footballer to crack the 700-goal barrier when he scored in Manchester United's 2-1 win against Everton on 9 October.

If Lionel Messi scores in his next appearance for Les Parisiens, he will score 700 goals in 840 games. By comparison, Cristiano Ronaldo achieved the feat in his 943rd club appearance.

The Paris-based giants are scheduled to face Olympique de Marseille on 26 February at the Stade Velodrome. A win here would see them extend their lead at the top of the table to at least seven points.

The former Barcelona forward is also just seven goals shy of Cristiano Ronaldo's tally of 706 career goals. The latter has scored five goals in as many appearances for Al-Nassr since joining the Saudi Pro League team in January.

Messi, meanwhile, has racked up a staggering tally of 16 goals and 14 assists in 27 games across competitions this term. The 2022 FIFA World Cup winner hasn't looked like slowing down any time soon and is arguably the frontrunner for the 2023 Ballon d'Or award.

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Arsenal star believes Bukayo Saka deserves similar treatment from referees as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi

Arsenal star Oleksandr Zinchenko has asked referees to protect teammate Bukayo Saka in a similar manner to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

The England international is a nimble dribbler and his pace off the blocks can leave defenders for dead. But this also makes him susceptible to harsh treatment from defenders tasked with marking him.

This was evidently the case in Arsenal's 4-2 win against Aston Villa on 18 February. He was brought down several times by opposition players but referee Simon Hooper was arguably lenient with his approach.

Speaking after an enthralling league win over the Villans, the former Manchester City left-back said:

"Bukayo is an unbelievable player, all the full backs from the other teams know he’s so dangerous, so they try to provoke him, tackle him and the referees should know this. We can speak about Messi, Cristiano, Neymar and players like this. The referees need to protect this kind of player."