August 06, (THEWILL) – As homage to unarguably the greatest player to have worn the colours of their jersey and given everything on the field of play for the club, La Liga giants FC Barcelona dug into the history books to lay out the accomplishments of their Argentine superstar Lionel Messi on the event of his imminent exit from Camp Nou.
It reads as a litany of the most and the best and the highest of almost every metric used in the analysis of a player’s achievements and attainment in the world of football and as a measure of assessing value, places Barca’s “little magician” heads and shoulders above everyone else.
The 34-year-old will be remembered for his record-setting six Ballon d’Ors, his mesmerising dribbles, his unstoppable pace, his stunning free-kicks and equally terrific goal-scoring abilities but the Catalan club wanted the world to know that there was a lot more to add to what is already beyond legendary.
In providing the statistics to push this notion, the club noted that “the Argentine star holds all of the main records in FC Barcelona history:” From records for little marks like the most appearances for the team, to the most goals, the most wins, and “most important of all, he has won the most titles in the club’s 121-year history.”
Yet, that was simply scratching the surface where the legend of the best player of the modern game is concerned because his renown extended beyond the Spanish League as Messi also set “European and world records, some of which few people believed could ever be beaten in the modern era.”
These facts, as laid out by the Barca website, go far and wide to show one thing and one thing only: Messi is the greatest football player of all time and it is a losing battle to contend against the facts.
LEO MESSI’S WORLD RECORDS
The only player in history to win the Ballon d’Or, FIFA World Player, Pichichi Trophy and Golden Boot in the same season. It happened in the 2009/10 season.
Player with the most Ballons d’Or. He has won six. They came in the years 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2019
Youngest player to win three Ballons d’Or. He was 24 years, 6 months and 17 days old when he won the third on January 9, 2012.
Player with the most Golden Shoes. Has won six. They came in the 2009-10, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons.
Top scorer in a season in official competitions. He scored 73 goals in 2011/12 (50 in the League, 14 in the Champions League, 3 in the Copa del Rey, 3 in the Spanish Super Cup, 1 in the European Super Cup and 2 in the Club World Cup)
All-time top scorer in a calendar year. He scored 91 official goals in 2012. With Barça, 84 (59 in the League, 13 in the Champions League, 5 in the Copa del Rey and 2 in the Super Cup) and with the Argentine national team, 12. He also managed another 5 in friendlies with Barça, which would see the figure rise to a total of 96 goals
Record of international goals in one year. He scored 25 goals in 2012 (13 in the Champions League and 12 with the Argentine national team), and shares the record with Vivian John Woodward, who scored 25 in 1909.
Top scorer for the same club. As of May 27, he has 672 goals, surpassing the 643 that Pelé scored with Santos between 1956 and 1974
Longest scoring streak in the league. He scored 33 goals in 21 consecutive matches from matchday 11 to 34 in the 2012/13 league season.
LEO MESSI’S EUROPEAN RECORDS
Top scorer in a European League since the establishment of the Golden Shoe trophy in the 1966/67 season. Set the record by scoring 50 goals in La Liga 2011/12
Player who has scored against the most teams in the Champions League. He has scored against 36 different opponents, surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo’s 35
LEO MESSI’S SPANISH RECORDS
Player with the most domestic and international titles. He has 35 since 2002. There are 10 leagues, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 7 Copas del Rey, 4 Champions Leagues, 3 Club World Cups and 3 European Super Cups.
Player with the most Pichichi Trophies in the Spanish league. He has won87. He did it in the 2009/10, 2011/12, 212/13, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons
Top scorer in the Spanish League. As of May 27, 2021, he has 474 goals in 520 games
Top scorer in history. As of May 27, 2021, he has 709 in 836 games
Top scorer in official competitions. As of May 27, 2021, he has 672 goals
Top scorer in international competitions. He has 128 goals: 120 in the Champions League, 3 in the European Super Cup and 5 in the Club World Cup
Top scorer in any edition of LaLiga. Scored 50 goals in the 2011/12 league season
Top scorer at home in a season in official matches: Leo Messi scored 46 goals in all competitions at the Camp Nou during the 2011/12 season
Top scorer at home in a season in LaLiga. He scored 35 goals at the Camp Nou in the 2011/12 league season
Top scorer away from home in a season in LaLiga. Scored 24 away goals in the 2012/13 league season
Most consecutive away league matches scored in. He scored 24 goals during 15 consecutive away games in the 2012/13 league season
Top scorer in LaLiga’s second round. Scored 28 goals in the second half of the 2011/12 league season
The only player who has been both top scorer and top assist provider in the same season. He scored 50 goals and supplied 15 assists (tied with Real Madrid player Özil) in the 2011/12 league season. He also did it in the 2017/18 league campaign (34 goals and 12 assists, matched in goals with Luis Suárez and in assists with Pablo Fornals, from Villarreal) and in the 2019/29 league season (25 goals and 21 assists)
Absolute top scorer in a season. He scored 73 official goals in 2011/12 (50 in the league, 14 in the Champions League, 3 in the Cup, 3 in the Spanish Super Cup, 1 in the European Super Cup and 2 in the Club World Cup) and 2 more in friendly matches
Most games scored in during a league season. He scored in 27 different games in the 2012/13 league campaign (46 goals), equalling the mark of Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo, who also scored in 27 games in the 2011/12 season
First to score in an entire round in the league season. He scored 30 goals in 19 consecutive matches in the 2012/13 campaign, from day number 11 to 29
Player with most hat-tricks, four-goal and five-goal contributions in official competition. March 22, 2021 sees him with 48 (41 hat-tricks, 6 four-goal hauls and one five-goal game)
Player with the most hat-tricks and four-goal contributions in the league: 36. He has scored a total of 31 hat-tricks and 5 four-goal hauls in LaLiga throughout his career
League season with all opponents scored against. He scored against all the teams in the 2012/13 LaLiga campaign, equaling the mark of Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo in 2011/12
Player who has scored against most teams in LaLiga. He has scored against 38 different opponents in the Spanish top-flight, surpassing the record of 35 held by Raúl González and Aritz Aduriz
Player with the most direct free-kicks scored in LaLiga. He has scored from 38 direct free-kicks in the league
Player with the most wins in official competition. As of May 27, 2021, he has 542 wins. Xavi is second with 476 victories
Player with most wins in the Spanish league. As of May 27, 2021, he has 383 wins in the domestic competition
Player with the most El Clásico’s played. As of May 27, 2021, he has played a total of 45 matches against Real Madrid (29 in the league, 8 in the Copa del Rey, 2 in the Champions League and 6 in the Spanish Super Cup).
Player with most El Clásico goals. As of May 27, 2021, he has scored 26 goals against Real Madrid (18 in LaLiga, 2 in the Champions League and 6 in the Spanish Super Cup)
LEO MESSI’S PERSONAL RECORDS AT BARÇA
Player with most official matches played. As of May 27, 2021, he has played 778 since his official debut
Player with most appearances for Argentina national side. As of 29 June he has played 148 times for Argentina, beating Javier Mascherano’s record of 147.
Player with most matches played in the league. As of May 27, 2021, he has played 520 since his official debut in October 2004
Youngest player to score 100 goals in official matches. He reached the figure on January 16, 2010, when he was 22 years old
Youngest player to score 200 goals in official matches. He reached the figure on November 1, 2011, when he was 24 years old
Top scorer in the European Cup / Champions League. He has 120 goals, almost 100 more than all his main pursuers
Only player in the history of the club who has scored in six official competitions in one year. Messi scored in all six competitions in 2011, equaling the feat achieved by Pedro Rodríguez in 2009
Player with the most goals scored in an edition of the Champions League. Leo Messi scored 14 goals in the 2011/12 Champions League. The record for the competition is held by Cristiano Ronaldo, who made it 17 in 2013/14
There are no adjectives left to qualify the extent of Messi’s genius as commentators often realised in covering the spectacle of his football while playing for club and country in the remarkable professional career he has enjoyed, and it is still unclear where the “little magician” will go from here.
Indications point to Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain, whose negotiators have already made contact with Messi’s agents to convince the Argentine to join his erstwhile friend and ex-teammate Neymar Jr in the French side, which will create a very tough European machine with the likes of compatriot Angel di Maria, Sergio Ramos, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Achraf Hakimi, Georginio Wijnaldum all in the side.
For the moment, nothing certain is known where his future lies but the fact that Barca, in particular, and La Liga, in general, will not be the same without the brilliant shine of one of the best to have ever graced the grass of the football pitch.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
