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Lionel Messi shocked the world a few months ago when he announced that he would be parting ways with FC Barcelona. La Pulga had spent his entire career with the Blaugrana, contributing hundreds of goals and winning several trophies along the way.
Lionel Messi has been among the top two players in the world for the last decade and a half. His displays on the football field have led many to believe that he is not only the best player of his generation but the greatest of all time.
Lionel Messi has broken several records
The former Barcelona talisman has broken innumerable records and will continue to do so during his playing career. Records and statistics are vital when debating about the best player of all time. Here are five records that make the case for Lionel Messi to be the GOAT:
#5 Only footballer to win four prestigious individual awards in a single season
Yes, you read that right! Lionel Messi achieved the unthinkable and bagged four eminent individual awards in the same season. The Argentine won the Ballon d’Or, Golden Boot, FIFA World Player and Pichichi Trophy in the 2009-10 campaign.
During that season, Lionel Messi scored 34 goals in 35 league appearances. Moreover, he scored eight goals in 11 UEFA Champions League matches. These honors couldn’t have come at a better time as Barcelona had just won the sextuple under Pep Guardiola.
One of his standout performances in 2010 came against Arsenal in the Champions League, when he scored four goals. It forced Arsene Wenger to shower the magician with heaps of praise:
"Messi is the best player in the world by some distance. He's like a PlayStation. He can take advantage of every mistake we make."
#4 Most goals for a single club
It’s astonishing how such a record features so low on this list. Lionel Messi broke Brazilian legend Pele’s record of most goals for a single club in 2020. To celebrate the occasion, Budweiser sent personalized beer bottles to every goalkeeper whom Lionel Messi has scored against.
Pele had scored 643 goals in 659 appearances for Santos. However, Messi overtook him with a strike against Real Valladolid last season. Overall, Lionel Messi aggregated 672 strikes in 778 matches for FC Barcelona.
Messi will not be able to add to his 672 goals following his transfer to Paris Saint-Germain. However, it is safe to say that it will take a monumental effort to topple or even come close to this record.
#3 Most European Golden Boots
Lionel Messi is not just a prolific goalscorer but is also renowned for his slick dribbling and eye-catching passes. With that being said, Messi has still managed to form a reputation of being an absolute machine when it comes to finding the back of the net.
The European Golden Boot is awarded to the player who scores the most number of goals in the league season of every European top division. Lionel Messi has been the recipient of this trophy on a record six occasions (2009-10, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons).
Among those seasons, he was the most effective in the 2011-12 season, as he netted 73 goals in all competitions. Moreover, he also recorded 19 assists to cap off a remarkable season.
#2 Most goals in a calendar year
Lionel Messi has broken a few records previously held by Gerd Muller, and this is one of them. The former Barcelona number 10 scored 91 goals for club and country in 2012, overtaking Gerd Muller as the most accomplished goal scorer in a single year.
German legend Gerd Muller scored 85 goals in 1972, a year in which he won the Euros with West Germany. However, his milestone was shattered by Lionel Messi 30 years later as the Argentine scored 79 and 12 goals for Barcelona and Argentina, respectively.
Despite the plethora of world-class strikers nowadays, it is almost inhumane to score 91 goals in a calendar year. This is another record set by Messi which is extremely hard to break.
#1 Lionel Messi has won the most Ballon d’Or awards
Ballon d’Or is the most illustrious individual award for football players. Over the last 15 years, it has become the personal property of two footballers: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. It is an essential point of distinction while debating between the two superstars.
Lionel Messi gains a major upper hand in the GOAT argument due to the fact he has won the Ballon d’Or six times (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2019). Only Ronaldo has won it five times, and no other player has received this award more than thrice.
The PSG star has also been nominated 13 times for the award, which is joint-highest with Ronaldo. In a world where players dream of winning one Ballon d’Or, Messi has half a dozen of them already. This is one of the main reasons why he is the greatest of all time.
