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Messi surpasses Pele's South American men's goal record with Bolivia hat-trick

Lionel Messi scored his 79th international goal on Thursday night to break the South American men's record held by Pele.

Messi scored all three goals in Argentina's World Cup qualifying win over Bolivia in Buenos Aires, giving him two more goals than the legendary Brazilian star.

Only Brazilian stars Marta (109) and Cristiane (96) have scored more overall international goals than the Argentina star now as he claimed his spot as the top men's goalscorer on the continent.

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What did Messi say?

“I really wanted to be able to enjoy it," Messi said after the match.