Football greats Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo register special '1000' landmarks

Legendary football stars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo registered special '1000' landmarks on Saturday. Messi became the first-ever player in the history of the sport to be involved in as many as 1,000 goals, whereas Ronaldo made his 1000th appearance for both club and country.

The Argentine skipper achieved the milestone in FC Barcelona's 5-0 victory over Eibar in their La Liga fixture where Messi netted four times. Messi's 1000-goal contributions include 696 goals, 306 assists and 48 hat-tricks over his 16-year career so far.

Ronaldo, on the other hand, scored twice in Juventus' 2-1 victory over SPAL in Serie A as he became the 20th footballer to play 1000 career matches.

Messi's hattrick at Nou Camp against Eibar took his tally to 36, two more than former Real Madrid superstar Ronaldo.

The Barca skipper recently registered his worst career drought in over the last six years after he went goalless for four matches (Valencia, Levante, Real Betis and Getafe FC). But, that did not stop him from helping his side move forward. He made his presence felt by setting up goals for his teammates. In the matches against Levante, Real Betis and Getafe FC, six out of Barca's seven goals came with Messi's assists.

The disappointing loss to Valencia saw Barca lose their top spot to Real Madrid in La Liga tables. In the subsequent game, which was against Levante, Messi set up two goals for teenage forward Ansu Fati as Barca sealed the match 2-1.

Messi then registered a hat-trick of assists and helped the Catalans defeat Real Betis 3-2. In the match against Getafe FC, Messi set up Barca's opening goal that was scored by up Antoine Griezmann. The reigning champions eventually won the match 2-1.

The Argentine forward was four games away from emulating his worst drought streak of eight straight games. Fortunately for Barca and Messi, the captain unleashed himself in style as he netted four times on Saturday and took his side back on the top of the La Liga table. That also was possible as Real Madrid ended up losing 1-0 to Levante and slipped to No. 2 in the table and now Barca are two points clear on the top.

Ronaldo and Messi next will be in action in their respective Champions League fixtures in the coming week. While Ronaldo's Juventus take on Lyon on Thursday, Messi's Barca are set to travel to lock horns against Napoli on Wednesday.