The records continue to tumble for Lionel Messi, with the Barcelona star now the leading goalscorer in El Clasico in La Liga after equalising against Real Madrid.

The mercurial Argentine netted his 15th league goal in meetings between Spain’s big two at Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday.

Another memorable individual effort helped Barca to draw level on the night, following Casemiro’s opener for the hosts, but also carried Messi clear at the top of another notable chart.

Edging ahead of Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stefano only serves to further underline Messi’s claims to a standing as the greatest footballer of all time.

He is the owner of countless other records, with his prolific strike rate down the years marking him out from just about everyone other than Cristiano Ronaldo.

The 29-year-old went on to net a late second at the Bernabeu, helping Barca to snatch a dramatic 3-2 victory and take him to 500 competitive efforts for Barca in all competitions.

Messi was already the outright leading marksman in Clasico fixtures prior to Sunday’s rekindling of old rivalries, with his tally now taken to 23.

The first of those efforts came back in 2007, with a devastating hat-trick at the age of just 19 offering an early indication of what was to come from him.