The heart and soul of Spanish giants FC Barcelona, Argentine forward Lionel Messi has finally parted ways with his boyhood club. A young kid from Rosario stunned the footballing world with his footballing heroics changing the fortunes of the Catalans. And although his time with the Catalans might come to an end, Lionel Messi smashed tons of records during his tenure at the club.
Managerial wizard Pep Guardiola once said, “The best is just one, the best is Messi.” Lionel Andres Messi will surely go down as one of the greatest footballers this generation has seen. Every team he has played against has always sung praises of him. While Lionel Messi bashing records week in and week out become normal for people, we at FootTheBall take a look at the records Messi has broken during his chronicle at the club.
Although the Greatest of All Time leaves after failing to reach an agreement with the club, the memories he leaves behind will be stored in the hearts of millions and billions of people who watched the Argentine weave his magic wearing the red and blue of Barcelona. From signing his first contract on a napkin to being Barcelona’s greatest, it’s time to revisit the records Messi broke in his glittering campaign at the Camp Nou.
LIONEL MESSI’S SPANISH RECORDS
BARCELONA’S MOST SUCCESSFUL PLAYER
Lionel Messi has won 35 pieces of silverware since 2002, making him the Catalans’ most-decorated player. There are 10 leagues, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 7 Copas del Rey, 4 Champions Leagues, 3 Club World Cups and 3 European Super Cups. The trophies show how Lionel Messi loved breaking records and scoring goals for his team.
PLAYER WITH THE MOST PICHICHI TROPHIES
A Pichichi trophy is given out to the top goalscorer of the league. The Argentine has bagged the accolade 8 times in his sparkling tenure at the Camp Nou. 2009/10, 2011/12, 2012/13, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons.
Congratulations to Lionel Messi for winning the Pichichi trophy, his eighth in total. 🏆 pic.twitter.com/OntIggGUF3
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) May 22, 2021
TOP-SCORER IN THE SPANISH LEAGUE
The Argentine has netted 474 goals in 520 games for the Catalans.
TOP-SCORER IN HISTORY
Lionel Messi has scored 709 goals in 836 games, making him the top scorer in the history of football.
TOP-SCORER IN OFFICIAL COMPETITIONS
The talismanic striker has 672 goals in official competitions. He recently beat Pele’s record to reach the summit of the catalogue.
From boy to goat. pic.twitter.com/G0JPpPi5WC
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) August 5, 2021
TOP-SCORER IN ANY EDITION OF THE LA LIGA
Lionel Messi thundered 50 goals in the 2011/12 campaign breaking Gerd Muller’s record scoring a half-century of goals in a single campaign.
TOP-SCORER AT HOME IN A SEASON IN OFFICIAL MATCHES
Messi broke another record in his jaw-dropping 2011/12 campaign. He scored 46 goals that season in official games played by Barcelona.
778 games
672 goals
305 assists
10x La Liga
7x Copa del Rey
7x Supercopa de España
4x UEFA Champions League
3x UEFA Super Cup
3x Club World Cup
6x Ballon d'Or
6x European Golden Shoe
6x La Liga Best PlayerIT’S OVER 😭 pic.twitter.com/gmsvcw9xxl
— Leo Messi 🔟 (@WeAreMessi) August 5, 2021
TOP-SCORER AT HOME IN A SEASON IN LA LIGA
The Argentine netted 35 goals at home in the 2011/12 campaign leaving the spectators at Camp Nou in awe of him.
TOP-SCORER AWAY FROM HOME IN A SEASON IN LA LIGA
In the summer of 2012/13, Lionel Messi proved why he could bully teams in their castle. Scoring 24 goals in away matches, Messi demolished outfits at their home.
MOST CONSECUTIVE AWAY LEAGUE MATCHES SCORED IN
In the 2012/13 season, Messi managed to score 24 goals playing away from home. All of these goals came in consecutive matches which were not played at Camp Nou. So in 15 consecutive away matches, the talismanic striker thundered 24 goals.
TOP SCORER IN LA LIGA’S SECOND ROUND
Messi smashed 28 goals in the second half of the 2011/12 campaign.
Lionel Messi: 25 goals, 21 assists
Thierry Henry: 24 goals, 20 assists
Two players, two historic seasons. pic.twitter.com/H50ifxODUZ— Squawka Football (@Squawka) July 20, 2020
ONLY PLAYER IN SPAIN WHO HAS BEEN THE TOP SCORER AND TOP ASSIST PROVIDER IN THE SAME SEASON
While finishing as a top-goal scorer or top-assist provider is a daunting task, Messi has ended a campaign as both thrice. The first came in his swashbuckling 2011/12 campaign, where he netted 50 goals and assisted 15 times( tied with Mesut Ozil). He repeated the feat in the 2017/18 campaign scoring 34 goals ( tied with his colleague Luis Suarez) and manufactured assists 12 times ( tied with Pablo Fornals). And just two seasons ago, he did it for the third time scoring 25 goals and delivering 21 assists.
TOP-SCORER IN ONE CAMPAIGN
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.
Throwback to 2012, when Lionel Messi (91) scored more goals than Manchester United (85), PSG (86), Chelsea (87) and Dortmund (88).
91 goals in 69 games for the GOAT. 🐐 pic.twitter.com/n8U77f0ks7
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) March 20, 2021
MOST GAMES SCORED IN DURING A LEAGUE SEASON
He scored in 27 different games in the 2012/13 league campaign (46 goals), equaling the mark of Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo, who also scored in 27 games in the 2011/12 season
17 – Lionel Messi 🇦🇷 is the player to have appeared the most seasons for Barcelona (17 level with Xavi Hernández & Carles Rexach), surpassing Andrés Iniesta, Sadurní & Migueli (16 for each one). Mystery#LionelMessi #leomessi #Barca pic.twitter.com/hoN4r0Jcio
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) August 5, 2021
FIRST TO SCORE IN AN ENTIRE ROUND IN THE LEAGUE SEASON
He smashed 30 goals in 19 consecutive matches in the summer of 2012/13. The streak started from matchday 11 and ended on matchday 29.
PLAYER WITH MOST HAT TRICKS
The Argentine has 41 hat tricks under his belt. Out of the 41, he has scored 31 hat-tricks in La Liga.
Lionel Messi’s first Hat-trick was against Real Madrid 🤯
His second hat-trick?
Vs Atletico Madrid 😳 pic.twitter.com/AaCTp5pTo4
— MessiTeam (@Lionel10Team) July 30, 2021
LEAGUE SEASON WITH ALL OPPONENTS SCORED AGAINST
Lionel Messi achieved this feat in the 2012/13 campaign when he struck at least once against every team in Spain.
PLAYER WHO HAS SCORED AGAINST MOST TEAMS IN LA LIGA.
Lionel Messi has smashed a goal against 38 different outfits in La Liga. The record was previously held by Raul Gonzalez and Aritz Aduriz ( both had scored against 35 teams).
THE PLAYER WITH THE MOST DIRECT FREE-KICKS SCORED IN LA LIGA
He has scored from 38 direct free-kicks in the league.
PLAYER WITH MOST WINS IN OFFICIAL COMPETITION
Lionel Messi has emerged victorious on 542 occasions. Xavi is second with 476 victories.
PLAYER TO HAVE PLAYED THE MOST EL-CLASSICOS
Lionel Messi has played against Los Blancos for a record 45 times. Donning the Blaugrana jersey, the Argentine has contested against his Spanish rivals 29 times in the league, 8 times in the Copa del Rey, 2 times in the Champions League and 6 times in the Spanish Super Cup.
👑 Simply, Leo #Messi 👑 🔴🔵 #ForçaBarça pic.twitter.com/TWOHVIXpCR
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) April 23, 2017
PLAYER WITH MOST EL CLASICO GOALS
Lionel Messi turns into a beast when playing against Los Blancos. The veteran has 26 goals against Real Madrid (18 in LaLiga, 2 in the Champions League and 6 in the Spanish Super Cup)
Top assist provider in La Liga: 192 assist
Most braces scored in La Liga: 116
Most La Liga appearances by a foreign player: 520 matches
The first player to score in 15, 16 and 17 consecutive seasons
The only player to score 20+ goals in 10, 11, 12 and 13 consecutive seasons
The only player to score 30+ goals in 7 different seasons
The only player to score 10+ goals in 13, 14 and 15 consecutive seasons (from 2006–07 to 2020–21)
The first player to reach 300 La Liga goals
The first player to reach 350 La Liga goals
The first player to reach 400 La Liga goals
Messi scored his 450th La Liga goal as Barcelona were held by Valencia on Saturday 🍿 pic.twitter.com/cx3ScVTObX
— GOAL (@goal) December 20, 2020
The first player to reach 450 La Liga goals
The first player to reach 150 La Liga assists
Most La Liga titles won by a non-Spanish individual: 10 (all with Barcelona)
Most appearances in a Copa del Rey final: 10 (2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021)
FULL TIME!
🏆 𝘾𝙊𝙋𝘼 𝘿𝙀𝙇 𝙍𝙀𝙔 𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙈𝙋𝙄𝙊𝙉𝙎❗ pic.twitter.com/aK0Cb4XDMI
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) April 17, 2021
Most Copa del Rey finals scored in: 7 (2009, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021)
Most assists provided in Copa del Rey finals: 6 (1 in 2009, 2 in 2016, 1 in 2017, 2 in 2018)
Most dribbles completed in a La Liga match: 15, against Real Betis in 2007.
Most dribbles completed in a Copa Del Rey match: 23, against Villareal in 2008
Lionel Messi has been announced La Liga’s best player 11 times in his astounding career. (2008/09, 2009/10, 2010/11, 2011/12, 2012/13, 2014/15, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/2020, 2020/21)
LA LIGA BEST FORWARD
Lionel Messi has won the prestigious title of La Liga’s best forward 7 times (2008/09, 2009/10, 2010/11, 2011/12, 2012/13, 2014/15, 2015/16)
Lionel Messi wins La Liga Player of the Month award… for the first time: https://t.co/wO3gKEzGsq pic.twitter.com/4ydNWFzCAe
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) February 12, 2016
LA LIGA PLAYER OF THE MONTH
He has won the award 7 times. (January 2016, April 2017, April 2018, September 2018, March 2019, November 2019, February 2020, February 2021)
LIONEL MESSI’S PERSONAL RECORDS
PLAYER WITH MOST OFFICIAL MATCHES PLAYED
Since his debut for the Catalans, Barcelona’s Number.10 has racked up 778 appearances for his club.
PLAYER WITH MOST MATCHES PLAYED IN THE LEAGUE
He has played 520 since his official debut in October 2004.
📅 #OTD in 2011, Leo Messi scored twice as Barcelona beat Real Madrid in the semi-finals…#UCL | @FCBarcelona pic.twitter.com/778JRp2Mqp
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) April 27, 2020
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
🔵🔴 Leo Messi has now scored 28 goals in 31 round of 16 games for Barcelona 🔥#UCL pic.twitter.com/pHgp5f8Vc2
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) February 16, 2021
TOP SCORER IN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FOR BARCELONA
He has 120 goals, almost 100 more than all the other Catalan players. The second on the list is Rivaldo with 25 goals.
🔵🔴 THAT incredible Leo Messi goal, again & again 🔥@FCBarcelona | #UCL pic.twitter.com/CPPGGaYpAh
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) March 15, 2021
ONLY PLAYER TO SCORE IN SIX OFFICIAL COMPETITIONS
Messi scored in all six competitions in 2011, equaling the feat achieved by Pedro Rodríguez in 2009.
THE PLAYER WITH THE MOST GOALS CORED IN ONE 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
OTHER ONE OF LIONEL MESSI’S RECORDS
Messi is the only player in the world 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. Another day, and another set of records broken by Lionel Messi.
The player with the most Ballons d’Or. He has won six. They came in the years 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2019.
Lionel Messi from @FCBarcelona is the 2019 Ballon d'Or winner! THAT'S HIS SIXTH ONE! #ballondor pic.twitter.com/dLndTZNeeW
— Ballon d'Or #ballondor (@francefootball) December 2, 2019
Youngest player to win three Ballon d’Or. He was 24 years, 6 months and 17 days old when he won the third on January 9, 2012.
The 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.
Congratulations Messi on winning your sixth golden shoe 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/mV4RFMdlch
— Barça Worldwide (@BarcaWorldwide) May 24, 2019
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
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.
The 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.
The player who has scored against the most teams in the Champions League. He has scored against 36 different opponents, surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo’s 35.
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
GOAL OF THE TOURNAMENT
The best goal in the quarter-final stage of Champions League: 2018–19
The best goal in the semi-final stage of Champions League: 2018–19
Copa América Best Goal: 2007
OFFICIAL: Lionel Messi's free-kick against Liverpool is the Champions League goal of the season 🥇
The perfect strike 🤩pic.twitter.com/wHKk7Usxyj
— GOAL (@goal) June 4, 2019
Champions League Goal of the Season: 2019–20
UEFA/UEFA.com Goal of the Season: 2014–15, 2015–16, 2018–19.
While Lionel Messi bashing records was a common sighting at Camp Nou, the situation might change after the veteran’s departure. The left-footed strikes won’t be there, the mind-boggling assists will be missing, and Messi won’t be tearing apart all the La Liga records. The Argentine won’t be saving FC Barcelona in pressure situations and although the forward’s time with the club ends, the legacy left behind by Messi will be remembered forever.
