5 records Lionel Messi broke in 2020

#3 First player to hit 1000 goals + assists combined

Lionel Messi is an incredible creator as well

Even if Lionel Messi's goalscoring rate wanes, he will still have a big role to play for whatever side he will be plying his trade for. He is as good a creator as he is a goalscorer and his vision on a football field is seldom matched.

In February earlier this year, Lionel Messi became the first player in the history of the game to officially hit the 1000 mark for goals and assists combined. In the 2019-20 season, in 41 games across La Liga and the UEFA Champions League, Lionel Messi scored 28 goals and provided 24 assists.

Those are incredible rates for both goalscoring and playmaking and it just proves that Messi is in a different league of his own. He is perhaps the closest we have come to see a complete footballer.

#2 First player ever to score 20+ goals in 12 consecutive La Liga seasons

FC Barcelona v Real Sociedad - La Liga

Lionel Messi is viewed as the greatest of all time because he has operated at an elite level ever since breaking into the first team setup at Barcelona. This year Lionel Messi became the first player to score more than 20 goals in 12 consecutive La Liga seasons.

Out of those 12 seasons, he has scored more than 30 goals in eight of them. That's the standard he maintains and the level he has had to keep up to make it to the GOAT debate.

Messi has seven goals from 13 appearances so far in La Liga. He has had to deal with a lot of internal issues at the club and if what we have seen in all of the last 12 years or so is anything to go by, he is certain to hit his stride and improve his own record.

20+ - Lionel Messi is the only player to score 20+ goals in 12 consecutive @LaLigaEN seasons: ✅23 - 08/09✅34 - 09/10✅31 - 10/11✅50 - 11/12✅46 - 12/13✅28 - 13/14✅43 - 14/15✅26 - 15/16✅37 - 16/17✅34 - 17/18✅36 - 18/19✅20 - 19/20Stellar. pic.twitter.com/WREVUTcgc9

— OptaJose (@OptaJose) June 13, 2020

#1 Lionel Messi now has the most goals for a single club

Real Valladolid CF v FC Barcelona - La Liga Santander

One-club players are a rarity in football. As such, it is quite special that Lionel Messi, one of the greatest footballers of all time, has only played for Barcelona. Now, with his goal last night against Real Valladolid, he has moved ahead of Pele as the player with the most goals for a single club.

Lionel Messi has now scored his 644th goal for Barcelona and took to Instagram to explain how he felt about breaking Pele's record. Messi said, via Instagram,

“When I started playing football, I didn’t expect to break a record like this, especially since it’s Pelé. I want to thank everyone who has helped me all of these years, my teammates, my family, my friends and everyone who has supported me.”

And to give you a sense of just how good a player has to be to break Messi's record:

To beat Messi’s 644 goal record, someone will have to score an average of 43 goals a season for 15 years....for one club. 🤯

— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) December 22, 2020