The Argentinian legend thought his goalscoring record would be broken sooner than it was by the Barcelona superstar
Gabriel Batistuta was surprised it took Lionel Messi so long to break his Argentina goalscoring record.
Messi broke Batistuta's mark in June last year and has taken his tally to 58 goals in 118 international appearances.
He is four clear as the nation's top goalscorer and even at 30 has shown few signs of slowing down.
Batistuta, who netted 54 times in 77 internationals, said he knew Messi would break his mark, but was surprised it took as long as it did.