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Lionel Messi is one of the finest players to have graced the sport.
One of the last vestiges of the true one-club man, Lionel Messi has been the epitome of sustained brilliance and consistency during a near two-decade-long stint at Barcelona.
Arriving at the club's famed La Masia academy at the age of 13, the diminutive Argentine made his Barcelona debut at 17 and has not looked back since.
Unsurprisingly, the rise of Lionel Messi coincided with the most glorious period in the history of Barcelona. The Blaugrana became a dominant team at home and abroad, winning two continental trebles amidst a plethora of domestic and continental honours.
Top ten Lionel Messi records for Barcelona
Lionel Messi has carved out a series of records in various competitions since making his Barcelona first-team debut in 2004.
On that note, let us have a look at ten such records, in no particular order.
#1 Most titles - 34
During his illustrious career, Lionel Messi has won a staggering 34 trophies in various competitions for Barcelona. The next best on the list is Andres Iniesta with 32.
The Argentine's silverware at Barcelona includes ten La Liga titles, six Copa Del Rey triumphs and four Champions League titles among various domestic and continental titles.
The 2018-19 La Liga triumph remains Lionel Messi's last title with Barcelona, as the Blaugrana endured a trophyless campaign the next season.
#9 Most La Liga appearances - 505
One of 12 players, four active, to have made over 500 La Liga appearances, Lionel Messi is Barcelona's joint-highest appearance maker in the Spanish top flight.
The diminutive Argentine is currently playing his 17th season in the competition, scoring over 450 goals and tallying 200-plus assists.
#3 Most goals - 654
During his stellar career, Lionel Messi has scored a staggering 654 goals for Barcelona. No other player has even scored 200 competitive goals for the club.
The duo of Luis Suarez, who now plays for Atletico Madrid, and Cesar Rodgriguez has both scored 195 goals in all competitions for Barcelona. They are second in the club's all-time scoring list but are a proverbial country mile behind Lionel Messi.
If goals in friendlies are also counted, Telmo Zarra (251) held the Barcelona scoring record, a mark Lionel Messi surpassed in the 2014-15 season.
#4 Most winning goals for a club in La Liga
Lionel Messi has scored 459 goals in La Liga, which is almost 150 goals more than the next most prolific scorer, Cristiano Ronaldo (311) in the competition.
Not surprisingly, the Argentine has scored many winners for Barcelona in La Liga over the years.
In fact, his 121 such strikes for Barcelona is the most by any player in the competition for one club. No other player has conjured even 100 La Liga winners, with Cristiano Ronaldo managing 89 for Real Madrid.
#5 Most Champions League goals for a club - 119
With 119 goals in the tournament (group stage to final), Lionel Messi is the second-most prolific scorer in the history of the UEFA Champions League.
However, the Argentine has the most goals by a player for a single club in the Champions League.
While Ronaldo (105 for Real Madrid) is the first player to score 100 Champions League goals for a club, Lionel Messi soon joined his arch-rival and has bettered his goalstally too.
#6 Most goals in a season - 73 (2011-12)
During a memorable 2011-12 campaign, Lionel Messi plundered a staggering 73 goals in all competitions to break Gerd Muller's record for the most goals in a season by a player.
That season, Lionel Messi became the first player (remains the only one to do so) to breach the 50-goal mark in a La Liga campaign. He scored 14 goals in the Champions League and nine other strikes in four different competitions.
However, despite Lionel Messi's exploits, Barcelona finished second-best to Real Madrid in La Liga and were knocked out by Chelsea in the Champions League semi-finals. They did win the four other competitions they played that season.
#7 Champions League goals against the most number of different teams - 36
Staying with the Champions League, Lionel Messi has scored against the most number of different teams (36) in the competition.
This campaign, Napoli became the 36th different team to concede a goal to Lionel Messi in the Champions League.
Juventus striker Cristiano Ronaldo has netted against 33 different teams in the competition.
#8 All-time El Clasico top-scorer
Lionel Messi has scored 26 goals in the El Clasico, arguably one of the biggest games in club football contested by two of the biggest clubs in the sport - Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Incidentally, 18 of these goals have come in La Liga fixtures between the two clubs, making Lionel Messi the most prolific scorer in El Clasico games in the league too.
The Argentine has drawn a blank in his last six games against Real Madrid. However, he did score a memorable hat-trick that earned him a rare standing ovation at the Santiago Bernabeu.
#9 Most assists in a La Liga season
Last season, Lionel Messi had a rather underwhelming campaign going by his usual staggering standards.
Not surprisingly, Messi's leanest La Liga campaign (25 goals) since 2008-09 coincided with Barcelona enduring their first trophyless season in more than a decade.
Nevertheless, during the 2019-20, Lionel Messi broke compatriot Xavi Hernandez's record (20) for the most La Liga assists in a season.
#10 Double figures for most consecutive La Liga seasons - 15
Despite enduring a difficult start to the season after a summer that almost saw him leave the club, Lionel Messi (15) leads the La Liga scoring charts.
It marks the 15th consecutive time the Argentine captain registered ten or more goals in La Liga.
Earlier in the season, Lionel Messi became the first player to score 450 La Liga goals, doing so for the only club he has ever played for - Barcelona.
