Lionel Messi's 301 league goals: Where does he rank in history?

By Peter Smith & Nick Pepper

Lionel Messi has surpassed 300 league goals for Barcelona - but how does he compare to Europe's top scorers in history?

Messi's milestones

Watch Lionel Messi's landmark La Liga goals

The Barcelona ace reached the landmark when he opened the scoring against Sporting Gijon on Wednesday night, and he added his 301st not long afterwards.

However, that haul only ranks him fifth among the highest scorers in Europe's major leagues.

Lionel Messi became the first player in history to reach 300 La Liga goals

Bayern Munich legend Gerd Muller scored an incredible 365 times in the Bundesliga between 1965 and 1979, helping his side to four league titles.

In England's first division, Jimmy Greaves scored 357 times for Chelsea, Tottenham and West Ham. However, when you combine Greaves' total in England with his nine in Serie A for AC Milan, that takes him to 366 top-flight goals in Europe's major leagues.

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Greaves is followed on the all-time scorers list in England's top flight by Steve Bloomer, who notched 317 goals for Derby and Middlesbrough from 1892 to 1914, and Everton hero Dixie Dean, who scored 310 in 362 games for the Toffees from 1924.

No player in France or Italy has hit 300 top-flight goals.

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Monaco striker Delio Onnis managed 299 between 1971 and 1986, while Silvio Piola scored 274 times in Italy's first division across 25 years for Pro Vercelli, Lazio, Juventus and Novara.

Messi still has time to take top spot from Muller. His strike against Sporting Gijon means he has netted his 301 goals in 334 games - a rate of 0.90 goals per game.

If he continues scoring at the same rate, Messi will take just 72 games to net the 65 he needs surpass Muller. So, come the 2017/18 season, Messi could be the leading scorer in the history of Europe's major leagues.

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