Lionel Messi has eclipsed Cristiano Ronaldo's club goal tally for the first time after his latest Barcelona masterclass.
Messi and Ronaldo's rivalry has dominated football for over a decade, with the pair competing for a number of accolades and records.
But it is now the Argentinian maestro who has stolen a march on his Portuguese counterpart with his delightful double against Real Valladolid, which included a 50th free-kick goal.
He has now bagged 608 goals for Barcelona in just 695 official club games - overtaking Ronaldo's 606 goal tally in club football, reached in 813 matches for Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United , Real Madrid and Juventus .
Ronaldo will have a chance to respond and take the lead in Serie A action against Genoa tonight, but Messi will now be keen to pull clear having caught up with his rival in the race.
The slightly earlier breakthrough of Ronaldo into first team football, making his debut for Sporting in 2002, gave him an edge in the number of goals.
But Messi has gradually closed the gap during their impressive goalscoring run and now moved ahead.
The 32-year-old also has two years on his side compared to 34-year-old Ronaldo as he now looks to chase down his total goals number.
Ronaldo reached the 700 goal milestone last month, with his stunning international record giving him an overall advantage over Messi.
The Portuguese superstar opened up on his "healthy rivalry" with Messi this week which he believes made both better players.
"A lot of people said that we fed each other, that being together in Spain made us better," Ronaldo told France Football .
"That's certainly true, I felt his presence more in Madrid than in Manchester.
"It was a healthy rivalry.
"We were the symbols of our clubs.
"I think he said recently that he missed me on a competitive level."
