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Argentina v Bolivia - International FriendlyGetty Images Sport
Ahmad Salah
Translated by

Argentina's all-time top scorer: who carries the torch after Messi?

Argentina vs Benin
Argentina
Benin
Friendlies
L. Messi
G. Batistuta
L. Martinez
D. Maradona
A. Di Maria
S. Aguero
Argentina
Benin

Lionel Messi closed the book on his Argentina career on Wednesday morning against Benin, bowing out as the greatest scorer in Albiceleste history with 126 goals in 208 matches. It's a figure that looks well beyond the reach of anyone who follows.

His farewell came with a goal in the friendly against Benin, played during the FIFA window after the World Cup. That strike took him to 126 goals, a staggering 70 clear of his nearest rival, Gabriel Batistuta, who sits on 56 in 78 matches.

Batistuta boasts the best scoring rate of the top ten, hitting 0.72 goals per match, according to Argentine newspaper La Nación.

Only one player from the current crop makes the list. Lautaro Martínez ranks third among Argentina's all-time top scorers with 42 goals in 86 matches, level with Sergio Agüero, who managed the same haul in 101 appearances.

  • Crespo surpasses Maradona: a special distinction for Passarella

    Hernán Crespo sits in fifth place with 35 goals, narrowly ahead of Diego Maradona on 32.

    Gonzalo Higuaín and Ángel Di María share seventh with 31 goals apiece. Higuaín edges the scoring rate at 0.41 to Di María's 0.21.

    Ninth place belongs to Luis Artime on 24 goals. Just behind sit Daniel Passarella and Leopoldo Jacinto Luque with 22 each, Passarella standing out as a defender.

    Herminio Masantonio weighs in with 19 goals, followed by José Sanfilippo, Norberto Méndez and Mario Alberto Kempes on 18 each.

    Read also: Video: foul language and insults: the president of the Argentine federation a victim of Messi's farewell

  • Details of Messi's international goals

    Messi opened his international account for Argentina on 1 March 2006, striking in a friendly against Croatia in Switzerland.

    His most prolific year came in 2022, according to the Argentine Football Association, when he found the net 18 times.

    Friendlies have brought him 49 goals, World Cup qualifiers another 36 and the Copa America 17. He has added 13 at the World Cup itself.

    No side has suffered more than Bolivia. Messi has put 11 past them.

    The rest of his record borders on the absurd. Five goals in a single match, 9 hat-tricks, 13 braces and an average of 0.61 goals per game.

    Read also: Should he learn from Ronaldo? A warning message to Mourinho: Mbappe did not understand what Real Madrid represents

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