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It has been 14 years since Lionel Messi made his debut for FC Barcelona and since then, he has achieved a lot that even breaking records has been his weekly habit.
Currently, Messi can now be tagged as the greatest of all time due to the number of awards he got for his club but what has he achieved so far. We look at the numbers produced by the little man for FC Barcelona.
#1 563 goals in 648 appearances
With a knack for goal and his ability to slalom past the defenders, La Pulga has produced a tremendous amount of goals for the Catalan side making him the all-time highest goalscorer with 563 goals in 648 games.
Undoubtedly, he broke this record back in the 2013-14 season during a match against Osasuna where he scored his hat-trick. With this goal-scoring record, it also makes him the record goalscorer for the club in terms of European competition with 126 goals.
The little man is off on a hot start in this season as he already scored 11 goals in 11 competitive matches for the Cules. He's been the main man they've been relying on this season since the departure of Don Andres Iniesta.
Since the start of the season, the Catalan giants have handed him the captain's armband which has been long overdue. In terms of him leading the pack, he's been a total inspiration to the squad as he's the man who doesn't want to back down and wants to keep on fighting until the final whistle is blown.
We're only looking at the first fact about the little man in terms of his numbers. Need we say more? Yes indeed! It's not just about goal scoring. These goals he scored won them trophies as well.
#2 Four UEFA Champions League Titles
Not only La Pulga is the king of La Liga, but he's also proven himself as well as the conqueror of Europe. He's already won four champions league trophy and a whopping 65 goals in 65 group stage matches for Barcelona making him the top scorer in the group stage history of the UEFA Champions League.
Although the little man's club is struggling in the league as of the moment, they are still the favourites to win it this season to give him his record five champions league trophy which will go well alongside his current record of five Ballon d'Or. It seems like nothing's stopping him from achieving the feat for himself and his club.
On the contrary, they've been unstoppable over the last two matches in the UCL. Messi kicked off their Champions League campaign with a hat-trick before scoring two decisive goals against Tottenham at Wembley.
#3 Five Ballon d'Or Awards
Being the first player in history to win football's most coveted prize for an individual in five occasions, Messi might've cemented his name as the greatest footballer who ever graced the field. It's no doubt he won this with sheer talent and perseverance.
If you look into how he plays the game, he gives so much space for his teammates because of the way he moves and how the defence follow him. Not only he has scored himself a total of 563 goals, but he's also been there to provide for his teammates as well providing a total of 217 assists.
This year, he's nominated to win the Ballon d'Or once again to extend his record to six and pull away from his archnemesis, Cristiano Ronaldo, who's also won the same number of Ballon d'Or as La Pulga.
Should the little man wins his sixth Ballon d'Or this year, it will add to the number of awards he's had to affirm his legendary status in the game.
#4 Nine La Liga Titles and Six Copa Del Rey
Before dominating Europe, if not subsequent to his European domination, Messi has been marauding the entire Spanish club football. Since his debut for his club, he's taken FC Barcelona to greater heights along with him surpassing their bitter rivals Real Madrid's trophy count.
Now, with their reigns being threatened due to a poor run, Messi never fails to lift the morale of the squad. In their encounter against Valencia, La Pulga scored what could be the deciding goal to put them level after conceding three minutes into the match.
He'll also be a big factor for their next match against current league leaders Sevilla who leads by just one point ahead of the Catalan giants. Having scored 31 goals against Sevilla, Messi's the man to mark in their next encounter.
One thing's for sure, he'll be a big factor for the Blaugrana ahead into his club's drive to get back to the top of the league standings.
#5 Living Legend
With the number of trophies, goals, assists and records broken, we all come down to this. Does he fit the status of a living legend? For most, yes, but there are some saying that you won't be a legend unless you win the World Cup.
Inevitably, his performance with his club has been exceptional. Year in and year out, we see him break someone's record while helping the club achieve their goals. By the time La Pulga calls it quits, he will always be remembered as the greatest football player who ever graced the pitch regardless if it is in the Camp Nou or even away from home.
No matter what happens, Messi believes his time will come sooner or later to lift the world cup trophy. But for now, let's take time to appreciate what the great Lionel Messi has given us for the last 14 years and counting since his first appearance for his beloved club.
