Barcelona: Lionel Messi scores stunning volley against Sevilla
Incredibly, the Argentina superstar is level with the League One side for goals scored since the start of 2010.
Both have 389 in that time and Messi can move ahead if the Black Cats fails to score at home to Plymouth today and he bags one at the Bernabeu.
It was one of a number of impressive stats compelled by Opta’s Duncan Alexander in the build-up to the second El Clasico in three days.
Messi scored his 44th hat-trick for Barcelona against Sevilla in his last league match which means he has more career trembles that Shola Ameobi scored Premier League goals.
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He already has 25 goals in 23 league goals this term as well as six in the Champions League and two in the Copa del Rey.
His goals have fired Barca to the top of the league and they remain in the hunt for a treble having beaten Real Madrid
in the semi0final of the Copa del Rey on Wednesday night.
The 31-year-old has a superb record in the Clasico with 26 goals in 40 appearances.
That is comfortably more than any player in the history of the fixture - Alfredo di Stefano and Cristiano Ronaldo are joint-second with 18 each.
Manager Ernesto Valverde is backing his star to produce the goods again and says it is up to his team-mates to get the best out of him.
“He’s the same Messi as always,” Valverde said ahead of the game.
“You always expect a lot because he’s so decisive, sometimes he seems less involved but that’s ot a lot to do with how the team plays.
“There are times when the team as a whole wasn’t playing well, but we really need to work to get him involved.”
He also urged caution and moved to win fans not to expect an easy win despite their 3-0 victory on Wednesday.
“It’s difficult to repeat a result against the same opponent, but we will try to win because the league demands it,” Valverde added.
“When you win, you gain confidence, but when you lose you want to reverse that, so it will be a tough match.”