Messi Reveals the 'Special' La Liga Record he Considers One of his Best

The Argentine feels honoured to have inked his name in the competition's history books for his efforts in front of goal

Barcelona star Lionel Messi has declared being La Liga's highest ever goal scorer is a record he considers 'special' and one of his best.
    The 32-year-old has struck a stunning 432 times across just 466 appearances in Spain's first division to claim a record that will take some beating.
    Messi's next closest rival for the milestone is long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored 311 goals over his nine years with Real Madrid.
    Along with the overall record, the Barca attacker has also finished as the competition's top scorer for an individual season six times - level with Athletic Club legend Telmo Zarra.
    While Messi's list of records is long, he stressed being La Liga's highest ever goal scorer is one he holds particularly dear.
    "I think the La Liga goal record is very important and very significant," Messi told La Liga on DAZN.

    "There have been spectacular players in this championship, the best in the world, and being the historic top scorer of this championship, given the level of the Spanish league, is special.
    "I think it is one of the best records I have made. I have been playing in La Liga for many years.
    "I don't know if other forwards have endured as long as me, but this has helped me a lot to score many and for me it is an honour to have entered the history of La Liga."
    Messi has continued to extend his goal-scoring record this season with the Argentine scoring 13 times across his 14 La Liga appearances for Barcelona.
    That strong return in front of goal sees him lead the competition's golden boot race once again with Karim Benzema (12) and Luis Suarez (11) his nearest opposition.
    Barcelona have enjoyed a poor start to 2020 however, drawing with Espanyol in the league before losing to Atletico Madrid in the Supercopa de Espana semi-finals.
    Those results ultimately saw manager Ernesto Valverde sacked on Tuesday with Quique Setien brought in as his replacement.
    Messi must therefore find a way to score under yet another manager with Setien admitting he's not completely certain how to handle such a player.
    "I'm still not entirely conscious of what it means to coach the best player in the world," he said.
"One thing is admiration and another thing is that everyone has to be in their place."