SAN FRANCISCO, December 24, (THEWILL) – Barcelona and Argentine football genius Lionel Messi added to his catalogue of honours and record-breaking feats recently when, on Tuesday, he broke Pele’s longtime record of goals for one club.
Barca’s captain and creative playmaker scored his 644th goal for Barcelona, in the Blaugrana’s 3-nil win over Real Valladolid, and with that goal surpassed Pele’s haul of 643 for Santos FC, the Brazilian sports club based in Vila Belmiro, a quarter in the city of Santos.
Budweiser, an American-style pale lager beer produced by Anheuser-Busch, part of AB InBev, decided to celebrate Messi’s latest achievement uniquely. The beer brand sent limited edition “Messi” beer bottles to all the goalkeepers against whom the talented forward scored. All 160 of them.
As promotional material for the campaign, the beer brand released a short film which was titled ‘Kings aren’t made overnight’. The promo showed Lionel Messi making notes for every goalkeeper he scored against.
On his part, Messi released a statement about the idea behind his partnership with the beer company for the promo.
“20 years ago, I began a journey determined to be the best player I can be and it has taken sacrifice and hard work to score every one of the 644 goals with the help of my teammates.
“Hopefully, fans around the world will find inspiration in my story to commit to their craft no matter how hard the journey because everyone can achieve greatness if they believe in themselves. I’m excited to partner with Budweiser to share this journey with everyone.”
Carles Puyol, who played alongside the talismanic Argentine for years at the Camp Nou, said: “I have seen first-hand the hard work Messi puts into achieving greatness day in, day out.
“This record couldn’t have been broken without the dedication and commitment he has shown over the last 20 years and I feel privileged to have played a part in his journey to becoming the King of Football.”
One of the keepers Messi scored against and whose bottles, numbered 514 and 515 had arrived at his home, Juventus legend Gianluigi Buffon, was gracious in his response. He took to Twitter to thank Budweiser for the fun present and complemented Messi on his accomplishments.
“Thanks for the beers. I’ll take it as a compliment. We have great battles over the years! Congratulations on breaking the 644 record #Messi! it really is an unbelievable achievement. Cheers!”
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
