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Lionel Messi is already one of the greatest players ever to play in the LaLiga and recently moved ahead of Gerd Muller in the number of goals scored for a single club. With 566 goals to his name right now, only Pele stands in between Messi and another world record. The Brazil legend scored 643 goals for his club Santos and the Argentinean magician, as such, needs only 77 goals to draw level with Pele. While this record might not be achieved just yet, Lionel Messi still has a few records in sight this season.
Messi has already created a few records this term, become the player with the most goals in the Champions League group stages and registering the most hat-tricks in the Champions League. In the LaLiga, Messi has become the League's highest assist provided in the history and has also achieved the rare feat of scoring again 37 oppositions!
The Argentinean also set a new record for the most appearance by a non-Spanish player in LaLiga(Read: Lionel Messi vs Girona: Leo sets new record, sizzles and scores in hard fought-draw). However, the season is just warming up and there are many more milestones left for the magician to reach. Today, we look at 5 such records the Lionel Messi will have his eyes on right now and which the Barcelona Skipper can equal or break by the end of the season. Read on to find out more.
#5 Most Hat-tricks in LaLiga
Lionel Messi scored his first Hat-trick of LaLiga against Real Madrid, as a 19-year-old on 10th March 2007, so he does know a thing or two about hat-tricks. Messi has scored 42 hat-tricks in his Barcelona career so far, which includes his 5 goal haul against Bayern Leverkusen, while he has also scored 4 goals in a game 5 times in his career.
Last season, Messi scored 4 hat-tricks in LaLiga, against Espanyol, SD Eibar, Leganes and Deportivo de la Coruna, which took him to 30 goals in LaLiga. The record for most hat-tricks in LaLiga is currently in Ronaldo's name, who has 34, so Messi only needs 5 more this season to break the record.
Also Read: 4 Records Lionel Messi has set this season so far.
As of now, Messi has already scored a hat-trick in the Champions League this season, which made him the player with the most hat-trick in the tournament. He has 9 goals in LaLiga and has scored 3 braces, but is yet to register his first hat-trick of the season. But with 26 games left in the season, you would not bet against Lionel Messi getting 5 hat-tricks before May.
#4 Joint-most Pichichi winner
The Pichichi Trophy is awarded by the Spanish Newspaper Marca to the LaLiga Top Scorer every season. Since the 2008/09 season, the winner of the Pichichi trophy has also won the European Golden Shoes. As such, the Pichichi Trophy represents astonishing goal scoring abilities and it is awarded to the deadliest striker of the season.
The current record for the most Pichichi trophies won is held by legendary Spanish striker Telmo Zarra, who won 6 Pichichi Trophies in between the 1944/45 season to the 1952/53 season, while playing for Athletic Bilbao. Behind him, 4 players have won the trophy 5 times, Real Madrid Legend Alfredo Di Stefano, Spanish wizard Quini, Mexican legend Hugo Sanchez and the magician himself, Lionel Messi.
Messi won the award first in the 2010/11 season scoring 34 goals from 35 games. He has since won the award in the 2011/12, 2012/13, 2016/17 and 2017/18 season. This season, Messi has already scored 9 goals from 10 games in the League and is currently leading the race to the LaLiga Golden Boot again. If he stays at the top of the pile till the end of the season, he will receive a record-equaling 6th Pichichi Trophy.
#3 Most Copa del Rey Finals scored in
Barcelona have an unmatched dominance in the Copa del Rey, they have won the tournament a record 30 times, and have finished runners-up 10 times. They have also won the trophy continuously for the last 4 years and have reached the finals 40 times in their history.
The current top scorer in the Copa del Rey is Telmo Zarra, who scored a mammoth 81 goals in the tournament in his career. The only active player close to his record is Messi, who is on 48 goals and might need a little more time to break this record. However, when it comes to scoring in the final of the tournament, Messi is on the brink of history yet again.
Messi is currently tied with Athletic Bilbao Legend Telmo Zarra in the record of most finals scored in. Both of them have scored in 5 finals and if Messi manages to reach the final and score in it this time, he will have the record all to himself
#2 Most Champions League goals for a single club
Cristiano Ronaldo scored 105 goals for Real Madrid in the Champions League, which was the record for the most goals scored for a single club in the tournament. When Messi scored his second goal in the group stage game against Tottenham Hotspurs, he took his tally to 105 goals in the Champions League with Barcelona and moved alongside Ronaldo.
He would have certainly broken this record by now, however, a Forearm Fracture meant that he had to sit out both the legs of the group stage tie against Inter Milan, where Barcelona won the home game but drew away at Italy.
Barcelona travel to Philips Stadion to face PSV Eindhoven on 29th November and it could be the day that Messi finally adds another feather to his already crowded cap. Interestingly, the Barcelona skipper bagged a fantastic hat-trick against PSV at home in the opening day of the tournament, so the Argentinean Magician will be quietly confident of creating a new record.
#1 First player to score 400 goals in LaLiga
Lionel Messi has now scored 392 goals in LaLiga from 428 games and is the LaLiga top scorer by a mile. His nearest opponent is Cristiano Ronaldo, who left for Juventus at the start of the season, having scored 311 goals. His nearest active competitor is veteran Aritz Aduriz, who currently plays for Athletic Bilbao and has scored 155 goals from 415 games. The next active player on the list is Real Madrid's Karim Benzema, who has scored 132 goals from 288 appearances.
Since the 2008/09 season, the Barcelona skipper has scored more than 20 league goals every season without fail. It is safe to assume that Messi shall surely repeat the feat this year and that in itself shall bring him closer to another record.
This season, Messi has already scored 9 goals from 10 games in LaLiga, having missed 2 games already with a Forearm Fracture. The Argentinean needs only 8 more goals till the end of the season to reach 400 career goals in LaLiga and become the first player to reach the magical figure in the history of the League. This is also another record that Messi will most certainly achieve this season, further ascertaining his position as perhaps the greatest player ever to grace LaLiga.
How many of these 5 Records can Lionel Messi break this season? Tell us in the comments below!
