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Along with Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi is considered one of the finest players to have graced the beautiful game.
One of the last vestiges of the true one-club man, Lionel Messi has played his entire club career with Barcelona, scoring numerous goals and winning accolades and titles along the way.
The all-time Barcelona and La Liga top-scorer has already reached a few landmarks this season, despite enduring one of his uncharacteristically underwhelming campaigns.
On that note, let's have a look at ten records that Lionel Messi could break or emulate before the year runs out.
Ten records that Lionel Messi could achieve this year
After becoming the all-time top-scorer for a single club earlier in the season, Lionel Messi could achieve a few more milestones for club and country in 2021.
Without further ado, let's have a look at ten of them, in no particular order.
#1 Become the first player to score 20 league goals in 13 successive campaigns
Lionel Messi is one of two players to have scored 20 league goals in 12 successive top-flight campaigns, the other being Cristiano Ronaldo.
However, the diminutive Argentine could become the first to do in 13 consecutive seasons if he scores another goal in the ongoing 2020-21 La Liga campaign.
The fewest league goals that he has managed during this period is the 23 he tallied in the 2008-09 season, while he amassed a record 50 just three seasons later.
#2 Second player to score 50 knockout-stage goals in the Champions League
Only Cristiano Ronaldo (67) has scored more than Lionel Messi (48) in the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League.
However, the second-most prolific scorer in competition history could emulate his arch-rival and arrive at the 50-goal mark if he scores at least a brace in Barcelona's Round-of-16 second leg game at PSG next week.
The Blaugrana trail the French champions 1-4 after a humbling reverse at home and will need their talismanic captain to engineer an improbable turnaround.
#3 Become the first player to score nine Champions League hat-tricks
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have scored a record eight hat-tricks apiece in the UEFA Champions League.
With Juventus playing their Round-of-16 second leg a day before Barcelona play theirs, Ronaldo could beat Messi to become the first player to score nine hat-tricks in the competition.
However, if the Portuguese player misses out, Lionel Messi could turn on the style in Paris and script another record in the competition.
#4 Win an eighth Pichichi award
Among many La Liga records carved out by the Argentine magician, Lionel Messi has the most Pichichi awards (top-scorer in a La Liga season) in the competition's history.
Last season, Lionel Messi broke a tie with Telmo Zarra (6) to claim this record all for himself.
Despite a slow start in the current campaign, the 33-year-old is leading the La Liga scoring charts with 19 strikes.
If he continues to do so at the end of the season, Lionel Messi would win a record-extending eighth Pichichi award and continue his four-year stranglehold of the coveted award.
#5 First player to score in 18 consecutive La Liga seasons
Lionel Messi is the only player in La Liga history to score in a staggering 17 consecutive seasons.
The Argentine has not failed to score in the competition since his La Liga debut back in 2004-05 when he tallied a solitary goal.
Seventeen seasons later, Lionel Messi has a record 463 goals in the competition, a tally that could increase before the end of the ongoing campaign.
If Lionel Messi opts to stay at Barcelona beyond the summer, he could become the first player to score in a record-extending 18 consecutive La Liga campaigns.
#6 First player to score in 17 consecutive UEFA Champions League seasons
This season, Lionel Messi became the first player to score in 16 consecutive Champions League seasons, a record that was later emulated by Frenchman Karim Benzema.
Since failing to score in his lone Champions League game in 2004-05, Lionel Messi has scored in every other edition of European club football's blue riband competition.
Regardless of whether he stays at Barcelona beyond the season, Lionel Messi could become the first player to score in 17 consecutive seasons in the competition later this year.
That would also make the Argentine player the first to score in 17 different Champions League campaigns, a record he presently shares with Benzema and Ryan Giggs.
#7 Most assists in Champions League history
Lionel Messi has tallied 36 assists in the Champions League, a tally that is only five behind that of all-time leader Cristiano Ronaldo.
Assuming his arch-rival goes slow in the assists category this year, Lionel Messi could have a chance of registering this record in his name. However, at the moment, it remains a long shot.
#8 Fifth player to make 150 Champions League appearances
With 148 appearances in the Champions League tournament (group stage to final), Lionel Messi is fifth in the competition's all-time appearance makers' list.
The Argentine is now only two games away from becoming only the fifth player, second active, to play 150 games in the competition. It is a mark that Lionel Messi could arrive at this season if Barcelona manage to overturn their 4-1 Round-of-16 first-leg deficit against PSG away from home next week.
If not, Lionel Messi would have the opportunity to arrive at the landmark later this year.
#9 Most capped player for Argentina
With 71 goals, Lionel Messi is the all-time top-scorer for Argentina. However, La Pulga (142) is not yet his country's record appearance maker.
Javier Mascherano (147) and Javier Zanetti (143) are ahead of Lionel Messi at the moment.
However, with the upcoming Copa America tournament and a few 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers to come, Lionel Messi is well on course to overtake Mascherano and become the most capped Albiceleste player this year.
#10 Win a seventh Ballon d'Or award
Lionel Messi won a record sixth Ballon d'Or award in 2019 to break a tie with his arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Argentine has had a largely underwhelming campaign this season, but he has shown signs of rediscovering his mojo in recent games.
If he produces a strong finish to the season and does well at the Copa America with Argentina, Lionel Messi could win a record-extending seventh Ballon d'Or award this year.
At the moment, he is not the leading candidate for the award, but things could change as the year progresses.
