Messi had enhanced his La Liga legacy before leaving Barcelona for PSG
Photo : AP
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Former Barcelona captain Lionel Messi is celebrating his 35th birthday today.
- Messi had joined forces with Kylian Mbappe and Neymar at PSG after a trophy-laden stint with Barca.
- Let’s take a quick look at some major records and achievements of the Barcelona legend and PSG icon.
The former FC Barcelona star is the only player in the history of club football to win Golden Boot, Pichichi Trophy, FIFA World Player and Ballon d’Or in the same season. Messi achieved the monumental feat during the 2009/10 season. Messi had also finished as UEFA Champions League’s top scorer in the same season. Interestingly, the Barca icon had a four-season winning streak of the UCL top scorer award between 2008/09 and 2011/12. The former Barca captain is also the youngest player to secure three Ballons d’Or titles.
- Goal machine for a reason
- All-time top scorer in a calendar year
A world record that is nearly impossible to break, Messi is the all-time top scorer in a calendar year. The former Barcelona captain had etched his name in the history books when he smashed 91 goals in 2012. With Barcelona, Messi scored 84 from 59 matches. Messi netted 13 goals in the Champions League. The goal machine of the Blaugrana netted 5 in the Copa del Rey and completed a brace in the Super Cup. With former world champions Argentina, Messi scored 12 in 2012. The Argentine forward also scored 5 goals in friendly games, taking his overall goal-tally to 96.
- Most decorated player in history of La Liga
Messi had enhanced his La Liga legacy before leaving Barcelona for PSG. The former Barcelona captain has won the most domestic and international titles in the Spanish top flight. From 2002 to 2020, Messi managed to win 10 leagues, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 7 Copas del Rey, 4 Champions Leagues, 3 Club World Cups and 3 European Super Cups. Messi also claimed six Ballon d’ Or title wins as a Barcelona player. Messi has also won the most number of Pichichi Trophies in the Spanish top-flight (2009/10, 2011/12, 212/13, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21).
Messi left Barca after becoming the player with most wins in the Spanish league. Messi guided Barca to 383 wins in the domestic arena. With or without Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi remained the face of El Clasico encounters. Messi spearheaded Barca’s attack in 45 matches against Real Madrid (29 in La Liga, 8 in Copa del Rey, 2 in UEFA Champions League and 6 in Spanish Super Cup). Besides playing the most Clasico games, Messi also holds the record of scoring the most El Clásico goals (26).
- All-time leading goal scorer for the same club
Messi has recorded the most appearances for Argentina and the Barcelona icon has also featured in record 520 La Liga games. The youngest to score 100 and 200 goals at Camp Nou, Messi smashed 672 goals for the Catalan giants in his record-breaking stint. Messi holds the record of scoring the most number of goals for a single club. Earlier, the seven-time Ballon d’or winner had surpassed legendary Pele, who scored 643 goals for Santos from 1956 to 1974.
https://www.timesnownews.com/sports/football/happy-birthday-lionel-messi-a-look-at-some-major-records-and-achievements-of-barcelona-legend-and-psg-star-article-92420381
