Lionel Messi news: Argentine wizard set to equal 66-year old La Liga record

What's the story?

Lionel Messi has made breaking records a habit, and the Barcelona talisman is all set to equal a record that has stood unparalleled for over 66 years - winning the Pichichi Trophy six times.

In case you didn't know...

The Pichichi Trophy for La Liga's top scorer each season was established in the 1952-53 campaign and was named after the legendary Athletic Bilbao striker Rafael 'Pichichi' Moreno Aranzadi. Another Athletic Bilbao legend Telmo Zarra, who played between 1939 and 1957, holds the record for the most Pichichi Trophy wins, claiming half a dozen of those by being the top scorer in the 1944–45, 1945–46, 1946–47, 1949–50, 1950–51 and 1952–53 seasons. He is also famously remembered for scoring his country's winning goal against England in the 1950 World Cup as Spain reached the final-four, their best performance in the competition until winning the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The heart of the matter

Messi has been in superb form this season in La Liga, scoring 34 goals in 28 starts. With one matchday left to go in the season and his closest rival being club-mate Luis Suarez, who has scored 21 times, the Argentine has pretty much wrapped up his sixth Pichichi Trophy en route to guiding Barcelona to their eighth La Liga title in the past 11 seasons.

Messi also rules the roost in the European Golden Shoe and the UEFA Champions League goalscoring charts for this season, even though he couldnt prevent Barcelona from crashing out of the semi-finals at the hands of Liverpool. He will now be keen to contribute in Barca's upcoming Copa del Rey final against Valencia.

#Messi this season:✅ Top scorer in @LaLigaEN✅ Top scorer in the @ChampionsLeague pic.twitter.com/Ve7RmA3b7i

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) April 16, 2019

What's next?

It remains to be seen if Messi features in Barcelona's final La Liga game of the season against Eibar on Sunday.