Messi serene over looming La Liga scoring record

Saturday, 4 October 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Lionel Messi is not thinking about breaking Telmo Zarra’s La Liga scoring record of 251 goals despite having closed to within three of the former Athletic Bilbao and Spain forward.

Barcelona's soccer player Lionel Messi of Argentina attends a news conference during a commercial event at Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona – REUTERS

Four-times World Player of the Year Messi has scored five times in Spain’s top flight this season, including two against Granada last weekend, taking his overall tally to 248, and has a chance to add to his haul in Saturday’s match at Rayo Vallecano. “Right now I am not thinking about the record,” Messi said at a promotional event in Barcelona on Thursday. “But it is nice to be the record top scorer in one of the best leagues in the world,” added the Argentina captain. “It will come when it comes.” Zarra, who died in 2006, had a career which spanned the 1940s and 1950s, while Messi made his Barca debut in 2004 at the age of 17 and turned 27 in June. His scored his first La Liga goal against Albacete on 1 May 2005, making him at the time the club and La Liga’s youngest scorer at 17 years, 10 months and seven days. The record was later broken by Bojan Krkic.