59 years later, Telmo Zarra’s impressive goalscoring record in La Liga is about to be broken. Bilbao’s legendary player required 15 seasons to score 251 goals. And very soon, Lionel Messi, after 10 seasons, will manage to put his name above all others.

We could talk about the differences between football now and in the 50s, but the fact of the matter is: Messi plays like a 50s player, like Casciari brilliantly put in on his homage to him: . With that being said, it was only a matter of time that he would beat a 59 year old record. He belongs to that era. We just are lucky enough to be able to witness him, twice a week, in the XXI century.

Thing is: 251 goals, after 10 seasons and being 27 years old means he will score a lot more before the day he decides to retire. And when he does, it’s more than likely he won’t just be La Liga’s all time goalscorer. He will also be the European leagues’ top goalscorer. All he needs to do is keep his rather “average” scoring rate.

Here’s how things stand right now:

Messi scored 248 times in the last decade, roughly 24,8 per season. If he keeps this up for the next 5 years (and he could play way past his 32nd birthday, and easily score more than 25 goals/season…), he would add 125 goals to his tally by the time he’s 32. 248 + 125 = 373. Beating Muller to the throne is feasible. I would even say it’s even natural he manages that, after beating Muller’s record in 2013.

I’m aware Messi just returned from his worst season in a long while, where injuries and off-the-pitch issues messed him up. But knowing Messi, how FCB plays and how (unfortunately) most La Liga teams aren’t a challenge, 25 goals/season is something he will comfortably reach. Staying 5 more years at FCB, especially if the team is run by a competent and ambitious coach like Luis Enrique, is also something that is bound to happen. Messi just renewed his contract, is happy, and even got his son Thiago a soci card.

32 years old. 373 league goals. Sounds about right when you think about Messi’s future.

But, if I were a betting man, I’d wager he would play at least another 7 years, and retire at 34-35 with over 400 league goals scored. Breaking barriers has been his thing so far, so reaching a number of goals no other player in Europe ever did wouldn’t surprise many.

I’ve come to learn a lot about football since I started following FCB, Messi and Pep. And if there’s one thing I won’t ever do, is doubt Lionel Messi or think he has reached his pinnacle. All he does is prove that as long and he’s having fun and playing alongside eager team mates, the goals will go in and the titles will come. As Casciari put it, it seems he doesn’t know the rules, and couldn’t care less about them. All he wants is the ball, and to put it between the sticks as many times as he possibly can.