Barcelona forward Lionel Messi says he is not competing with Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo as he closes in on the Spanish league goalscoring record.
Messi, 27, is on 248 goals, three behind Athletic Bilbao legend Telmo Zarra, who scored his 251 in the 1940s and 50s.
“I just concentrate on playing my game, doing my work,” he said.
“I’m not interested in competition with Cristiano. Individual prizes are the least important thing in football.”
Argentina international Messi would equal the Spanish record with a hat-trick at Rayo Vallecano on Saturday.
“It would be very nice to become the leading scorer in such a special and important league,” he said. “It would be very special, but all in good time.
Messi’s records | |
---|---|
Barcelona’s top goalscorer: 360 | Most goals in a calendar year: 91 |
Most goals in a season: 68 | Most goals in a La Liga season: 50 |
Most Ballon d’Ors: 4 | Most consecutive La Liga matches scored in: 10 |
Most European Cup top scorer awards: 4 (with Gerd Muller) | Most goals in a single European Cup game: 5 |
Most La Liga hat-tricks in a season:8 | Most goals in El Clasico: 21 |
Most goals in Club World Cup: 4(held jointly with Denilson) |
“I don’t know what my place in the history of the game will be. I’m just focussed on improving and winning more.”
Messi said he is enjoying playing under manager Luis Enrique, who replaced Gerardo Martino in the summer after Barcelona missed out on the La Liga title on the final day.
Barcelona are top of the table with five wins and a draw from six games, having scored 17 goals without conceding.
“We’re working well in training and we are trying to carry that forward into the games,” Messi said.
“The team is growing and we are on the right track. There’s more to come once we take everything on board that the boss is asking of us.
“You work differently when there’s a new coach. He tells us what he wants and we have to try and take that in as quickly as we can.”
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi says he is not competing with Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo as he closes in on the Spanish league goalscoring record.
Messi, 27, is on 248 goals, three behind Athletic Bilbao legend Telmo Zarra, who scored his 251 in the 1940s and 50s.
“I just concentrate on playing my game, doing my work,” he said.
“I’m not interested in competition with Cristiano. Individual prizes are the least important thing in football.”
Argentina international Messi would equal the Spanish record with a hat-trick at Rayo Vallecano on Saturday.
“It would be very nice to become the leading scorer in such a special and important league,” he said. “It would be very special, but all in good time.
“I don’t know what my place in the history of the game will be. I’m just focussed on improving and winning more.”
Messi said he is enjoying playing under manager Luis Enrique, who replaced Gerardo Martino in the summer after Barcelona missed out on the La Liga title on the final day.
Barcelona are top of the table with five wins and a draw from six games, having scored 17 goals without conceding.
“We’re working well in training and we are trying to carry that forward into the games,” Messi said.
“The team is growing and we are on the right track. There’s more to come once we take everything on board that the boss is asking of us.
“You work differently when there’s a new coach. He tells us what he wants and we have to try and take that in as quickly as we can.”
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Source: BBC Sport