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With 672 goals and 305 assists in 778 appearances for Barcelona, Lionel Messi has transcended the standards set in the footballing world to judge a player's impact on this beautiful game.
While several pages would be needed to list his statistical accolades, an entire novel might not be sufficient if the technical aspect of his game is also taken into account.
The sheer consistency displayed by the diminutive Argentinian remains unparalleled to this date.
While Cristiano Ronaldo has proven to be the only competition for 'La Pulga' in a pure goalscoring sense, Messi comfortably steers ahead of his Portuguese counterpart in terms of overall gameplay and effectiveness.
Lionel Messi, Barcelona, and Titles
In his 17-year senior career at the Camp Nou so far, Lionel Messi has accumulated a total of 35 club trophies.
That is enough to land him in second place on the list of the 'most decorated players in football,' just a couple of titles behind Dani Alves, his former Barcelona teammate.
A detailed list of individual honors would trap us on the internet for the rest of eternity.
Despite all the rumors surrounding Lionel Messi's future, Barcelona are favorites to keep hold of the six-time Ballon d'Or winner.
Having had his differences with the club, Messi was ready to end their 21-year-old love affair in 2020. However, the recent appointment of fan-favorite Joan Laporta as president of the club renewed his faith in the Barcelona project.
What still hasn't been renewed is Messi's contract with his boyhood club. But reports suggest that that shouldn't take long.
Without further ado, let's take a look at five of the 31 goals scored by Lionel Messi in the finals of several club competitions he partook in that changed football forever.
#5 UEFA Champions League final against Manchester United, 2011
Kicking off the list in fifth place is Lionel Messi's deadlock-breaking goal against Manchester United in the 2011 Champions League final.
With Sir Alex Ferguson leading the English champions and Pep Guardiola at Barcelona's helm, both teams were level on paper.
Pedro scored the first goal of the game, giving his side the lead in the 27th minute. However, a powerful strike by Wayne Rooney minutes later proved to be the equalizer.
With the game tied at half-time, a moment of brilliance from Lionel Messi in the second half was all that Barcelona needed to get into the driver's seat. Finding little space outside the box, Messi fired in a surprise shot, unsettling Edwin van der Sar, thereby tilting the game in Barca's favor.
Just 15 minutes later, David Villa curled in a superb strike into the top corner, sealing the game for the Blaugrana.
Barcelona won their fourth Champions League title, and Messi was awarded the UEFA Man of the Match award for his stupendous performance, topped off with a decisive 54th-minute goal against the Red Devils.
#4 UEFA Super Cup against Sevilla, 2015
One of the most bizarre cup finals ever, the 2015 UEFA Super Cup between Champions League holders Barcelona and Europa League winners Sevilla was filled with drama.
The all-Spanish affair witnessed three tremendous free-kicks from both teams in the span of just 16 minutes.
Ever Banega opened the scoring for the Andalusian side in the third minute, with a sublime finish against Marc-Andre ter Stegen. Nevertheless, Lionel Messi replied in style, scoring twice from outside the box in under eight minutes to restore the lead for Barcelona.
Even though his first strike was special in its own manner, the dead-ball specialist brought his A-game for the second opportunity.
With almost double the distance from the previous free-kick, Messi doubled down on the precision, crashing the ball onto the right post and in, giving Beto no chance of saving it.
The first 90 minutes ended with both teams tied at 4-4. A dramatic goal from Pedro with just five minutes remaining on the clock was all that Barcelona needed to win their fifth title of the year.
#3 UEFA Champions League final against Manchester United, 2009
An identical game to the fifth entry on our list, the 2009 Champions League final proved to be a very special one for both Lionel Messi and Barcelona. The 26-times Spanish champions were fresh off winning a domestic double and had their eyes on the elusive European title.
In an evenly poised match against Manchester United, Samuel Eto'o opened the scoring for Barcelona in the 10th minute. However, Lionel Messi's 70th-minute header sealed the competition for the Blaugrana, creating history in the process.
His towering strike meant Barcelona became the first-ever Spanish side to win a continental treble. The Argentine number 10 commemorated the goal by kissing his fallen boot, a celebration that has gained iconic status since.
Pep Guardiola's men went on to secure another three trophies that season, a feat that had never been accomplished by any European team in the history of football until then.
The fabled 'sextuple' was recently replicated by Hansi Flick's rampant Bayern Munich in 2020.
#2 Supercopa de España against Real Madrid, 2012
The 2012 edition of the Supercopa de España, or more commonly known as the Spanish Super Cup, was played between arch-rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid over two games, home and away.
Even though the aggregate score amounted to four on each side, Los Blancos ran out victors on the pretext of away goals. However, the second leg witnessed a once-in-a-lifetime free-kick, scored by none other than Lionel Messi.
With Madrid leading the night by two goals, Barcelona was awarded a free kick in the final moments of the first half. The chances of bouncing back through this opportunity looked bleak as the spot was at least 35-40 yards away from the goal. Enter Lionel Messi.
The six-time European Golden Shoe awardee banged in a curler in the top-left corner of the goal, giving Iker Casillas no chance of saving that beauty.
However, that strike proved to be the last goal of the game, rendering Lionel Messi's efforts vain.
#1 Copa del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao, 2015
Arguably the best of his 748 strikes, Lionel Messi's astonishing solo effort against Athletic Bilbao in the 2015 Copa del Rey final can easily stand its ground among the greatest goals ever scored in the history of the game.
After receiving the ball from Dani Alves on the right flank of the opposition's half, Messi went on a rampage, dribbling past four Bilbao players as if they were cones on a training facility.
He then slotted the ball past Iago Herrerín at the near post to finish off a mind-numbing attack.
This wondrous strike broke the stalemate between Barcelona and the Basque club, with the score latched at nil-nil in 20 minutes of regulation time.
Lionel Messi found the net for the second time in the 74th minute to bring the tally up to 3-0 and seal the deal for the Catalan giants.
Barcelona subsequently won their 27th Copa del Rey title by a 3-1 scoreline, securing their second title of the season. Luis Enrique would later go onto lead the team to the second treble in the club's history.
Lionel Messi was honored with the Ballon d'Or at the end of the 2014-15 season, his fifth at the time, while his goal against Bilbao grabbed second place in that year's FIFA Puskás Award.
Honorable mention: Somewhat reminiscent of his aforementioned 2015 goal, Lionel Messi combined with Frenkie de Jong to produce a similar goal in 2021.
Poetically, the concerned game was the final of the Copa del Rey, where Barcelona decimated Athletic Bilbao 4-0, yet again.
