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Lionel Messi is an absolute phenomenon. The Argentine maestro along with Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the two standout footballers of the generation and it is no surprise that he is the owner of a number of world records.
One of the greatest footballers to play the game, Messi has been creating history since 2004. The little magician has an incredible 13 World records against his name and we at Sportskeeda decide to take a look at all the world records held by the Barcelona superstar.
#1 Most FIFA Ballon d’Or Awards (5)
Although Ronaldo has closed the gap on Messi over the past few years, the Barcelona maestro still has more individual awards to his name.The Argentine ace has an astonishing 5 Ballon d’Or awards trumping Ronaldo’s 3. Messi is also the only player to have laid his hands on the coveted trophy on 4 consecutive occasions between 2009 and 2012.
In the last eight years Messi and Ronaldo have completely dominated the Ballon d’Or award and with the Portuguese superstar favourite to win the game’s top individual accolade this season, the duopoly is all set to continue.
For now though, Messi holds the world record for the most number of Ballon d’Or awards with 5, followed by Platini, Cruyff, Van Basten and Cristiano Ronaldo who all have won the prestigious award 3 times.
#2 Only player in history to score 40+ goals in 7 consecutive seasons
Lionel Messi has been incredibly consistent in the last 10 years, and since the 2009/10 season, the legendary Argentine has scored 40+ goals in every season till date. It is set to continue in the eighth season as well, since Messi already has 14 goals in 11 appearances for Barcelona this season.
Barcelona have arguably been the most successful club side in this period and they owe much of their success to Lionel Messi’s goals.
#3 Most appearances in the FIFPro World XI (9 – Shared with Cristiano Ronaldo)
This football era is the era of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi and it is easy to see why. Since 2007, both Ronaldo and Messi have made the FIFPro XI every year making it 9 consecutive appearances in the World team of the year.
Both of them are expected to make it this year as well, making it an astonishing 10 appearances.
#4 Only player to score in 6 different club competitions in a single season twice (2011 and 2015)
Barcelona have usually been challenging for all the trophies and Lionel Messi created history not once, but twice when he scored in La Liga, Copa Del Rey, Supercopa de Espana, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA World Cup in a single season.
#5 Most goals scored in the Club World Cup (5 – tied along with Luis Suarez and Delgado)
The Argentine maestro has won 3 FIFA World Cups in his career and it is no surprise that he has scored 5 goals. However, he shares the world record with his club team-mate Luis Suarez and Argentine Cesar Delgado who plays for Mexican club Monterrey.
#6 Most appearances in the top 3 candidates of the Ballon d’Or award (9 times: 2007-2015)
The Barcelona superstar beat Cristiano Ronaldo to this record. The Portuguese forward is second with 8 appearances. Crisitiano Ronaldo missed a lot of matches in the 2009/2010 season which saw him drop out of the top 3 in 2010.
Here is a video of the 2011 Club World Cup final:
#7 Guinness World Record for most number of goals scored in a calendar year (91 goals in 2012)
Guinness World Records recognized FC Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi for setting a new mark for most goals in a calendar year – 91 in the year 2012. The 29-year-old notched up the record beating Bayern Munich star Gerd Muller’s record in the process.
Guinness and FIFA issued a statement in 2012 saying that Messi’s goals this year and those of Muller in 1972 are part of the official record and there should be no controversy surrounding the Argentine’s feat.
Messi scored 61 goals this year in the Spanish league, 13 in the UEFA Champions League, seven in international friendlies, five in World Cup qualifying matches, three in the Copa del Rey (King’s Cup) and two in the Supercopa de Espana (Supercup of Spain), taking his tally to an incredible 91 goals in a single year.
No one has come close to breaking that record yet and it looks like something which will stand for a long time to come.
#8 Most international goals scored in a calendar year – club and country (25 in 2012)
Messi had an incredible 2012 and along with the Guinness World record, he also created another unique world record for the most number of international goals scored in a calendar year. International goals included those scored in continental competitions for Barcelona and in international matches for Argentina.
#9 Most consecutive matches scored in the League: 21 matches (33 goals)
In the 2012/13 season, Lionel Messi went on an incredible scoring form in the League, the likes of which will probably be never repeated again. The Argentine maestro scored in a scarcely believable consecutive 21 League matches scoring 33 goals.
#10 First player to score consecutively against all teams in the League
That year, Lionel Messi also became the first player ever to score consecutively against all the teams playing in the League. Messi scored against all the 19 teams continuously in the League even scoring against arch rivals Real Madrid twice during that run.
Here is a video of Messi’s superb performance against Real Madrid during that run:
#11 Youngest player ever to win 3 Ballon d’Or awards: 24 years, 6 months and 17 days.
When Messi won his 3rd Ballon d’Or award in 2011, not only did he equal legends of the game like Platini, Cruyff and Van Basten, he went one step ahead becoming the youngest ever player at 24 years, 6 months and 17 days to claim three ballon d’Or awards.
#12 Most FIFA Club World Cup Golden Balls (2)
The FIFA Club World Cup was introduced in its new format only in 2005 and Barcelona are the most successful club in the competition having won the competition a record 3 times. It is no surprise therefore, that their best player Messi is the player to have won the most number of Club World Cup Golden Balls (2) having won it in 2009 and 2011.
#13 Only footballer to score 60+ goals in all competitions in 2 consecutive seasons
Messi cemented his legacy as one of the greatest players of this generation in the 2011/12 and the 2012/13 season when he went on a scoring spree, scoring goals for fun. The Argentine maestro is the only footballer ever to score 60+ goals in 2 consecutive seasons making him one of the game’s greatest goalscorers.
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