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Lionel Messi. The player who beggars all description. One for whom no words will suffice—the epitome of footballing prowess.
Long after he has retired, his name will be chanted as the individual who elevated the beautiful game to an art. Who redefined the sport named 'Football' per se. Who never failed to enrapture the audience with his eponymous composure, balance, dribbling, passing, intellect and whatnot.
Lionel Messi is arguably the greatest footballer to have ever stepped onto the football pitch if there ever was one. And you don't have to take my word for that as the greats of the sport have already acknowledged his authority as such.
So without further gilding the lily, let us take a look at five records held by the Argentine which are impossible to be surpassed.
5. Most official goals in a calendar year: 91 goals (2012)
Lionel Messi is easily one of the most prolific goalscorers in world football. In fact, in 2012, Messi broke Gerd Muller’s record of 85 goals, which was set in 1972, by registering an astounding tally of 91 goals (combined in all official competitions for Barcelona and Argentina).
Messi's total of 91 goals came in 69 official matches, 79 in 60 appearances for the Blaugrana and 12 in 9 games for the Albiceleste.
Consequently, that's an average of 1.319 goals per game and 66 minutes per goal. Leo was even honoured with the Guinness World Record title for most goals in a calendar year for this accomplishment.
4. Youngest player to win 4 Ballon d'Or awards
The Ballon d'Or is undoubtedly the most coveted individual prize in modern football - a glittering accolade eyed by the best footballers of each generation.
While most players find it hard to clinch the award in their entire footballing career, Lionel Messi astonishingly first pulled off this feat at the tender age of 22.
By 2012, Leo had bagged 4 Ballon d'Ors in total, and he had achieved all this while he was only 25 years, six months and 15 days old, much to everyone's surprise. Hence, he became the youngest player to lift the award for the fourth time in his illustrious career.
Such an extraordinary feat can only be overshadowed when pigs fly!
3. Most assists in La Liga: 181
Messi's capabilities in front of goal are unquestionable. As mentioned earlier, he is excellent at driving the ball into the back of the net, but besides that, he even excels at engineering assists for his fellow team-mates.
As a result, he has racked up the most assists in La Liga since the league's inception which are 181 in number. Given the market scenario nowadays with millions being lashed out carelessly for top-quality footballers, we could very well see this record remain unbroken for good.
2. Winning 4 Ballon d'Or awards on the spin
Lionel Messi's triumph of winning 4 Ballon d'Ors successively between 2009-2012 is a remarkable record, which is unlikely to be transcended for years to come.
The record is a manifestation of La Pulga's dedication, perseverance, consistency and the ability to dominate the footballing scene for quite a long time. Bearing in mind the competitive nature of football these days, which is destined to amplify in the upcoming years, the idea of this record being eclipsed sounds far-fetched.
He is also the only player in history to the win the Ballon d'Or six times, a staggering record that Cristiano Ronaldo has his eyes on.
1. All-time highest goalscorer in La Liga: 438
As a consequence of his exceptional goal-scoring abilities, Lionel Messi is also atop La Liga's all-time goals chart having managed a phenomenal 438 goals for Barcelona.
This total comes at a rate of 0.92 goals per game, which are some staggering numbers. The second on the chart is the former Real Madrid megastar, Cristiano Ronaldo, who left Los Blancos in 2018.
Now with Cristiano Ronaldo gone, there is no imminent threat to Messi's aforementioned record, which is only bound to increase considering he has still two to three years on his side as Barcelona's lynchpin.
