Brazil legend Pele on Thursday paid tribute to Lionel Messi after the forward scored his 600th goal for Barcelona during his team's 3-0 win over Liverpool in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal.
The 31-year-old Argentina international reached the milestone with a curling 30-yard free-kick, his second goal of Wednesday's match at the Camp Nou, as Barcelona edged toward a place in the final.
"I would like to congratulate you, Lionel Messi, for your 600th goal. What a way to score it. Fabulous." Pele said in a Twitter post.
The 78-year-old three-time World Cup winner is the only player in history to have scored more goals than Messi for one club, having netted 643 times for Santos from 1956 to 1974.