Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona continues to add to his list of achievements by becoming the first player to score more than 300 La Liga goals. The five-time Ballon D’Or winner achieved the feat when Barcelona played Sporting Gijon, rifling in a 25-yard shot at the 20-minute mark.

Messi actually delayed reaching the milestone, which would have taken place as early as Sunday. Rather than hog the limelight, the Argentine star did the next best thing when he set up teammate Luis Suarez for a penalty spot.

This time, there was no denying the feat after hitting a 25-yard attempt in the first half of their match against the hosting Sporting Gijon squad. Barcelona won that tiff 3-1.

However, Messi was far from finished. He connected a second goal when the host squad pulled abreast. That allowed him to jack up his point total to 301 while also improving his club’s goal total to 10,000. With the feat, Messi now holds a sizeable 50 goal lead over Telma Zarra of Athletic Club, who has 51. Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid CF is third with 246.

Aside from setting his mark in La Liga, the goal total also places the 28-year-old forward as only the fifth player to score 300 goals in any of the top five leagues in Europe. He joins an elite cast that includes the likes of Jimmy Greaves, Gerd Muller, Dixie Dean and Steve Bloomer.

The feat also overshadows earlier fears of slowing down, following kidney problems tied up with the FC Barcelona star forward. Earlier this month, there were anxious moments regarding the overall health of the Argentine hotshot. It was reported that Messi would need treatment to address for renal colic, a type of abdominal pain tied up with kidney stones.

Though Neymar and Luis Suarez were still around to hold fort, it was obvious that things would be better with the big three around to lead the Barcelona charge. And as things have been panning out lately, Messi seems to be playing as if there were no health issues to be worried about.

With the performance, Messi was even feted when he was named Spain’s player of the month. After scoring six goals in five games last month, it was the first time that a Barcelona player won the award.

The feat overshadows an earlier issue tied up with that passed opportunity to reach 300 against Celta Vigo. Rival Cristiano Ronaldo shed more light on possibly why saying, “I know why he did it and I am not going to say anything more than that. You can think whatever you like."

Apart from Ronaldo’s take, some believe that it was done as a tribute to Barcelona legend Johan Cruyff who is battling cancer.

"It made me very happy what Messi did," Cruyff said.