Lionel Messi Tops Copa America Goal-Scoring Chart As Neymar Chases the Barcelona Legend
- Argentina have qualified for the semifinal of the 2021 Copa America after beating Ecuador 3-0 in the quarterfinal
- Lionel Messi scored the third goal for Argentina as the Barcelona legend is now having four goals in the tournament
- Paris Saint-Germain and Brazilian footballer Neymar is the closest challenger having scored two goals so far
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Barcelona legend Lionel Messi has now emerged as the leading scorer at the 2021 Copa America championship with four goals following his strike against Ecuador in the quarterfinal.
The six time Ballon d'Or winner who is currently a free agent was superb for Argentina in their 3-0 win over Ecuador as he contributed to the three goals.
Rodrigo de Paul scored the first goal for Argentina in the 40th minute after benefiting from an assist by Lionel Messi to give Argentina the lead.
Source: Getty Images
Lautaro Martinez netted the second goal for Argentina in the 84th minute and it was Lionel Messi who also gave the assist.
In the added minutes to end the encounter, Lionel Messi scored a fantastic free-kick to seal a semifinal tie for Argentina who are now favourites to win the title.
Former Barcelona star Neymar is the closest challenger to Lionel Messi as far as the Golden Boot race is concerned as the Brazilian is having two goals.
According to the report on Sportskeeda, Messi in addition to his four goals also has a further five assists in what has been a stellar performance so far in Brazil.
Earlier, Legit.ng had reported how Lionel Messi became a free agent something Barcelona have been avoiding for the past two seasons.
Despite electing President Joan Laporta in January, who promised to keep the Argentine at the Camp Nou for the rest of his career, nothing seems to have happened.
However, an agreement is yet to be reached with then 34-year-old as his yearly income reportedly one of the major setbacks in signing a new deal.
Reports from Sportmail, claim discussions are currently ongoing with the six-time Ballon d'Or's representatives.
The reports also stated that Barcelona will have to sell a couple of players to help fund Messi's new contract and stick to La Liga's financial fair play rules.
Manchester City and Paris saint-Germain are the clubs to have shown interest in Messi and with the situation of things, both European giants will be weighing their options on the forward this summer.
Source: Legit.ng
