The 160 goalkeepers given 644 bottles of Budweiser beer from Lionel Messi | OneFootball

Highlights

Remember during Lionel Messi's final season at Barcelona when 160 goalkeepers were sent 644 bottles of Budweiser beer between them? You may have missed it at the time, so allow us to explain exactly what happened.

Each bottle of Budweiser represented one of Messi's 644 goals for Barça. What was significant about the number 644? Well, Messi netted his 644th Barcelona goal against Real Valladolid and broke Pele's long-standing record for most goals scored for a single club in the process.

Budweiser then came up with a genius campaign to celebrate Messi's achievement. Personalised bottles of their beer were sent to every 'keeper that the legendary forward had scored against up until that point. Each bottle was numbered and featured an image of Messi celebrating.

All 644 bottles were accompanied by the following message: "This feat is made even more extraordinary given they were scored against the best keepers in the world. We know of no other competitors more worthy of celebrating. Kings aren't made overnight."

Notable goalkeepers who received at least one bottle

It was a message that encouraged some of the 'keepers who received a bottle (or more than one bottle in quite a few cases) to share a photo and a message on social media. Gianluigi Buffon, one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, tweeted: "@budfootball... thanks for the beers. I'l take it as a compliment. We have great battles over the years! Congratulations on breaking the 644 record #Messi! it really is an unbelievable achievement. Cheers!". The Italian also filmed the following video:

Former England international Joe Hart wrote on Instagram: "Nothing but respect for the great man @leomessi seems strange to be 'proud' to have conceded goals but at the end of the day we are dealing with greatness ... congratulations and it's just a privilege for me and to be a part of his history and an achievement that will never be matched."

And Atletico Madrid's Jan Oblak posted: "Congratulations on your great achievement of 644 goals, Leo. I never like conceding but the challenge of stopping you brings the best out of goalkeepers too. Thank you @budfootball for the special gift."

Every goalkeeper who received a beer from Messi

A graphic showing the full list of goalkeepers that received one or more Budweiser beer was then posted to social media, highlighting the staggering number of elite-level 'keepers that Messi had scored against for the Blaugrana.

Three bottles

Five bottles

Seven bottles

Nine bottles

10 or more bottles

As you can see, no goalkeeper received more bottles of Messi's Budweiser beer than Diego Alves, the former Valencia and Brazil shot-stopper who conceded a whopping 21 of Messi's 644 goals. Second on the list was ex-Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz (18), followed by Real Madrid icon Iker Casillas and Anders Fernandez (17 each). Thibaut Courtois, meanwhile, was sent nine bottles. The world-class Belgian must have breathed a huge sigh of relief when Messi departed Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain in 2021.

Other 'keepers who received a delivery from Messi included David de Gea, Wojciech Szczesny, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Hugo Lloris, Petr Cech, Manuel Neuer, Alisson and Edwin van der Sar. In fact, it would probably be far quicker to name the goalkeepers that Messi didn't score against during his extraordinary 17-year spell at Barcelona.