When Telmo Zarra passed away at the age of 85 in February 2006, his long-standing Liga goals record appeared unbeatable. Back then, Lionel Messi was in only his second season at Barcelona and had scored just seven times in La Liga. But eight years on, he has eclipsed the brilliant Basque and is now not only the Primera Division's greatest goalscorer, but also the finest footballer to ever grace Spain's top-flight.
Messi surpassed Zarra's magical mark of 251 Liga goals with his hat-trick in the 5-1 win against Sevilla at Camp Nou on Saturday and, at the age of 27, could go on to smash the record over the next few seasons at Barcelona. Even though he has adopted more of a playmaker role this term under Luis Enrique, there are plenty more goals still to come from the four-time Ballon d'Or winner.
Zarra watched Messi before his death, yet the legendary Athletic Club striker never witnessed the Argentine in all his goalscoring glory. Back then, Leo was a winger with plenty of promise, but far from the finished article.
It was in 2006-07 that the forward made the world sit up and truly take notice as he scored a carbon copy of Diego Maradona's famous World Cup goal against England by beating a series of defenders in a remarkable run and finish at home to Getafe in the Copa del Rey.
But it was in 2008-09 that his goalscoring really reached new heights as Pep Guardiola took over and the Catalan club went on enjoy the most glorious era in its entire history, amassing 14 out of a possible 19 seasons in four fantastic seasons. And Messi was the undoubted star.
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