For all that he’s achieved with Barcelona at both the club and personal level, there remain certain limitations to what Lionel Messi can win and what he cannot. While he’s set the bar quite high for everyone else to follow, Messi has a few records with the Catalan club that he’ll never break.
The Argentine is approaching his 30th birthday and yes, he’s having a sensational year this time around for Luis Enrique but given he had one of the best midfielders ever in football helping him out in recent seasons, it’s something that is slowly slipping away from beside him.
Also read: 5 records Cristiano Ronaldo might never break at Real Madrid
Messi has to work harder than ever to break records all on his own these days and that might not seem like something he can do any longer given his age. So, here’s looking at five records with Barcelona that Lionel Messi simply cannot break:
#5 Fastest red card in football
Lionel Messi was never a player whose name often decorated the referee's cards but that's slowly been changing for he's been getting smarter and more cunning with every passing year. And while he's only ever gotten one red card over his entire FC Barcelona career, it's safe to say he won't be breaking the record for being the fastest one to be dismissed.
Cross Farm Park Celtic striker Lee Todd was sent off 2 seconds into the game for swearing at the referee back in 2000. Todd, who was close to the referee, was so startled by the ref's whistle to signify the start of the game, that he muttered the words, “F**k me, that was loud,” earning him a sending off almost instantaneously.
Now, while Messi might get another red card in his career, you never know, getting one that early in the game is almost out of the question.
#4 Most goals scored in a single official match
Lionel Messi is more than capable of breaking a record in the goalscoring department and most of the ones that do exist have his name alongside it. But if there's one record that Messi hasn't broken – or is yet to break – or it almost never going to do so – it is the one set by an Australian footballer!
Archie Thompson scored 13 goals in an official match back in 2002 when the team from down under beat American Samoa 31-0 in a 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification game. Messi has scored 4 goals in a game multiple times but given the amount of attention he draws from defenders these days, it's almost impossible for him to score into double digits.
Now almost 30 and heading into the final stage of his career, it's the kind of record he can longer chase for the sake of it.
#3 Most consecutive La Liga hat-tricks
Lionel Messi has scored eight hat-tricks in a single La Liga season – tied with Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo – but has never come close to scoring multiple hat-tricks consecutively. The Argentine has scored back-to-back hat-tricks three times but might not be able to break the record.
Real Oviedo's Isidro Langara holds the record in Spanish football for being the only player ever to score three consecutive hat-tricks. He achieved this feat back in 1935 and it stands resolute even now.
Had Messi had the kind of support he enjoyed at Barcelona, say five years back, it could've been something he could've achieved. Now, he's out of time, out of valuable support and probably out of chances to do so given the league's getting stronger and stronger.
#2 Most goals scored in a single La Liga game
If there's anyone who can get closest to this record, it's either Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo but the two of them might never break the record for the most number of goals in a single La Liga game set way back in 1952.
Athletic Bilbao’s Agustin Sauto Arana set the record against Barcelona in 1931 and Barcelona’s Laszlo Kubala replicated the feat in 1952. Both of them have scored 7 goals in a single La Liga game and hold the record until date.
Messi has scored 4 goals in a single game but is yet to go higher than that. With defences getting tighter and tighter these days, it's a grind week in and week out for Barcelona and especially Messi.
#1 Most goals in a single FIFA World Cup campaign
When the FIFA World Cup starts next year, Lionel Messi will be 31 and well past the stage where he could possibly have set perhaps one of the most sought-after records of all time. French international Just Fontaine scored the most number of goals in a single FIFA World Cup campaign back in 1958 and still holds the record.
Fontaine scored a whopping 13 goals throughout the competition including four in the last match – which happened to be the decider for third place. Messi has had a few issues with Argentina with whom he's yet to win a senior title.
And if all of that has transpired during the prime of his career, what will it mean when he's an elder statesman in the team? While he may go down as one of the greatest forwards of all time, sadly he'll be another one of the greatests who never challenged this record.
