Lionel Messi has become Barcelona's all-time leading goalscorer at just 24-years-old.
The Argentine broke Cesar Rodriguez's 232-goal haul against with a hat-trick against Granada on Tuesday night.
Messi overhauls Rodriguez:
Barca were 2-0 up at half time courtesy of goals from Xavi and Messi, but El Grana drew level through Mainz and Guilherme Siqueira within 17 minutes of the restart.
Then Messi claimed his personal milestone, with number 234 coming, naturally, via a lob. Tello regained the two-goal lead before Messi completed his latest trio by beating the offside trap and coolly rounding goalkeeper Julio Cesar.
Indisputably one of the greatest players to have graced a football pitch, it is another feat in a short but trophy-laden career for the Argentine.
Messi's 234 strikes:
The 'Little Flea' is a little genius. For all his outrageous ability, he shies away from the superfluous and ostentatious - he chips when one-on-one not because of its style but because he is so good at executing it.
So in tribute to one of football's greatest number 10's (keep voting in our poll), here's five of Messi-ah's greatest hits...
Numero uno
How appropriate that Messi's first goal for Barca came courtesy of a lob, something he continues to make a habit of doing on a near-weekly basis. In his opening season in the first-team, he took eight appearances to net his first goal for the club.
The first of many:
When Messi made his debut in the 2004/05 season, Ronaldinho was the King of Catalonia. Playing the best football of his career, the Brazilian set up his South American team-mate in a league match against Albacete with a delicate lob, allowing the ball to sit up perfectly for Messi, who expertly placed it over Raul Valbuena to nestle into the back of the net.
Maradona goal
One of the few players who have warranted comparison to El Diego, in 2007 Messi scored an eerily similar goal to Maradona's second against England at the 1986 World Cup.
Memories of Maradona:
His effort against Getafe is arguably his best. The nimbleness, quickness of thought and gradual acceleration cannot be replicated by any other footballer on the planet, which makes it the number 10 (but then number 19)'s signature strike.
He bypassed nearly half the team after a run which started inside his own half and, like Maradona, on the far side. He even rounded the 'keeper like his former Argentina coach did against Peter Shilton, although he finished with his (weaker) right foot. Which perhaps makes it all the more impressive.
Arsenal quartet
Two weeks ago the world went into hysteria after Messi scored five times against fifth-placed Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen, who had effectively surrendered any hope of Champions League qualification. His feat was dwarfed a week later by Mario Gomez hitting four for Bayern Munich against Basel, but because Gomez looks like George McFly and has left many with scars from his Euro 2008 performance, it is unfashionable to extol him similarly.
Messi blitzes the Gunners:
What did warrant praising was Messi's quartet of strikes against Arsenal in 2010. Barcelona had snatched a draw from the jaws of defeat at the Emirates, dominating and leading a game before allowing their hosts to draw level. The Gunners actually took the lead at Camp Nou via Nicklas Bendtner (no, seriously), which didn't settle well with Messi, who promptly attempted to burst the net a minute later.
Thereafter, with the assistance of some Keystone Cops defending, he annihilated Arsenal with focused guile and had even the rarely magnanimous Arsene Wenger swooning afterwards.
Holding off Zaragoza
One of Messi's greatest assets is grit. For all the silk he weaves on a football pitch, his steely resilience and deceptive strength has seen him withstand a bevy of hatchet men in La Liga, which further corroborates with the Maradona heir pronunciations.
Another burst:
His dribble last season against Real Zaragoza started by him holding off Antonio Herrera before beating three opponents (one defender twice) and firing a low shot past Toni Doblas for his second of the game. Even members of Barcelona's staff put their hands to their head in amazement, evoking memories of Bobby Robson's astonishment at Ronaldo's goal for the same club against Compostela in 1996.
Mauling Madrid
"I'd like to play against 10 men too, like he does," opined Cristiano Ronaldo after Messi effectively killed the 2011 Champions League semi-final at the halfway stage. Madrid were a man down after Pepe was controversially sent off having made minimal contact on the Oscar-worthy Dani Alves at 0-0. Barcelona capitalised when substitute Ibrahim Afellay provided a cross for Messi to head in the breakthrough in the 76th minute.
Leo the lion:
The piece de resistance was to come though. Exchanging a one-two with Sergio Busquets, like the Getafe goal, Messi resembled a Porsche seamlessly switching through the gears as a host of Land Rovers perished in his wake. What makes it such a marvellous goal is how Busquets resembles one of those disinterested schoolboys during PE. He kills the ball, allows Messi to takeover, and every Blaugrana player near enough stops and watches on in admiration.