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There is not much to say about Lionel Messi that the world doesn't already know. The Argentine maestro has established his status as a legend in the history of football and recently concluded one of his best individual seasons, tallying a staggering 51 goals in all competitions for the Blaugrana.
Coming through the doors of La Masia, the forward made his competitive debut in 2004 and has since played a key role in Barcelona for fifteen years, earning himself the tag of a one-club man.
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At 32, Messi has lifted a whopping 30 trophies with Barcelona including four Champions League titles, ten La Liga trophies, six Copa del Reys, eight Spanish Super Cups, and three UEFA Super Cups. Internationally, the Blaugrana captain is yet to win a major title with the Argentina national team, a shortcoming that he is often criticized for.
Furthermore, the Argentina international has broken several records in terms of individual trophies. He recently broke his own record to become the only player to have won six European Golden Shoes by netting 36 goals in the 2018-19 season of La Liga. The same campaign saw him go level with Atletico Bilbao legend Telmo Zarra to win his record sixth Pichichi trophy. In addition to that, he shares the record for the most Ballon d'Or wins (5) with Cristiano Ronaldo.
As we move closer to the end of the Messi era, we take a look at three of the many challenges that still await him before he hangs up his boots.
#3 Become the Champions League's all-time top-scorer
The record for the most number of goals in the history of the Champions League is held by none other than Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese ace has netted 126 goals in the European competition.
Messi, on the other hand, has tallied 112 goals in the Champions League and isn't far behind in the race for the top spot of the goal-scoring charts.
Of course, Ronaldo will continue to increase his tally as he maintains his exploits for Juventus, and it remains to be seen whether Messi will acrpass the all-time tally by the time he retires.
#2 Win the Champions League again
Messi has already won the UEFA Champions League four times but the title has eluded him in cruel ways in the last few years. The last time Barcelona won the continental trophy was in 2015 after beating Juventus in the finals.
The Catalan giants squandered their best chance to win the competition during the recently-concluded season, after losing to eventual winners Liverpool despite having had a three-goal advantage going into the second leg of their semi-final fixture.
The 32-year-old was heavily criticised for his inability to lead the Blaugrana to the title with former manager Louis van Gaal pinning much of the blame on him. He said, "He’s the best individual player in the world because his stats are amazing. But why hasn’t he won a Champions League for five years?"
"As captain, you have to ask yourself why the team doesn’t win in Europe. I think that Messi is also responsible for what is happening in Barcelona, not just the coach."
"They have a squad of 30 players and I believe that Messi should adapt himself to the team, and not the other way around."
Barcelona look set to re-establish their reputation in Europe in the upcoming season and Messi will hope he beats the odds to win his first Champions League title as team captain.
#1 Win major silverware with Argentina
Messi has been at the receiving end of heavy criticism when it comes to his international career. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has struggled to mirror his club successes with the Argentina national team, having lost a series of finals with them in the last few years.
La Albiceleste lost the 2014 FIFA World Cup final to Germany before losing consecutive Copa America finals in 2015 and 2016.
Internationally, the Barcelona talisman has only won the under-20 World Cup and an Olympic gold medal which he won with his home country in Beijing 2008.
Argentina are once again trying their luck in the ongoing Copa America where they narrowly reached the quarter-finals after defeating Qatar 2-0.
The team will hope to get past Venezuela in the quarter-final stage to take yet another step towards their long-awaited dream. Winning the Copa America will also finally take some weight off Messi's shoulders and put an end to the criticisms surrounding his international exploits.
