Messi nets 400th career goal as Barca thrash Granada

In a career already groaning under the weight of milestones, Messi duly passed another one on Saturday scoring his 400th goal for club and country as Barcelona smashed six unanswered goals past Granada at the Nou Camp, CNN reports. The landmark strike came in the 61st minute of the match -- heading in Dani Alves' volleyed cross -- to put Barca 4-0 up after a goal from Ivan Rakitic and two from Neymar had all but wrapped up three points before the break. Neymar completed his hat-trick in the 66th minute before Messi tucked away his 401st career goal late on to complete the rout and seal Barca's biggest win in La Liga this season. Messi, still only 27 years old, has now scored 359 goals in competitive matches for Barcelona and 42 for Argentina. "I never imagined I could achieve anything like this in my career," Messi said on his official Facebook page. "Thanks for all the congratulations on scoring 400 goals with FC Barcelona and the Argentinian National Team. I'll continue working hard to reach more targets," he added. 'Magic wand' Barca manager Luis Enrique was quick to heap praise on his midfield maestro. "I don't think if we added together the goals we have scored on the playground it would reach 400," Enrique said after the match. "Messi is someone who has been touched by a magic wand and he is desperate to enjoy playing football." The four-ton mark was passed by his La Liga rival Cristiano Ronaldo last January, but the Argentine has bragging rights after reaching the total in just 525 appearances compared to the Portuguese who took 653 games. As one landmark is reached another substantial record heaves into view as Messi looks to pass Telmo Zarra's all-time La Liga goal-scoring record of 251.