'Splendid' hat trick aids Messi to become Barcelona's all-time record scorer

London, Mar 21(ANI): Lionel Messi became Barcelona's all-record goal scorer in style with 233 goals, as he hit a splendid hat trick against La Liga team Granada on Tuesday.

Messi broke the club record of 232 official goals set by Cesar Rodriguez, when he calmly tossed home his second of the match in the 67th minute.

Messi has already scored 54 goals in 45 matches for Barcelona this season. He has now a total of 234 goals to his name, and he took 314 appearances to achieve this feat, whereas previous holder Rodriguez took 354 official matches to score that many goals.

Previously, Cesar was believed to have scored 235 goals for Barcelona, The Daily Star reports.

But Barcelona clarified earlier Tuesday on their website: "A study has revealed that the legendary Cesar Rodriguez in fact scored 232 goals, or just one more than the Argentinean, who could equal or beat that score against Granada." (ANI)