Top 5 Records yet to be Broken by Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi. The name itself is enough to strike terror into the hearts of the bravest defenders of his era. As he approaches the twilight of his career, journalists from all over the world have run out of superlatives to describe the divine Messi. Apparently, his former coach Pep Guardiola did have a tad bit of advice for them as he quoted those words.

"Don't write about him. Don't try to describe him: Just watch him."

Considered by many as the greatest player ever to play the game of football, Leo Messi has given them every reason to say so. You would be absolutely tired if you try to count his accolades. They are limitless.

And records? Oh, don't even think about it. Even Messi himself wouldn't be able to remember the amount he has broken. It feels criminal to describe his feats in words, as adjectives have proven so inadequate in describing his god-like achievements. Needless to say, he occupies the throne in the pantheon of the greatest footballers ever to grace the game.

When people saw Pele and Maradona, they were sure they wouldn't see anyone like them ever again. But then, Messi happened. And he has broken almost every other record that Pele and Maradona held for years. Out of them, some look like they will never be broken again. Here are the top 5 records Messi has yet to break in his career.

Note: Stats updated as of 16 November 2018

#5 Most Appearances for Barcelona

Messi has appeared in 385 matches for Barcelona.

Messi started his club career in 2004, aged 17. He was the youngest player to feature in a La Liga match for the Catalans until the record was broken by Bojan. Since then, Messi has come a long way, scoring countless times while breaking a number of records.

The Argentine skipper is already the all-time top scorer for Barcelona with a whopping tally of over 550 goals. Considering the fact that he has 4 to 5 years left under his belt, he could end up amassing an unimaginable number of goals.

However, Leo Messi is still behind Xavi Hernandez in the count of most appearances for the Catalans. Xavi has appeared 869 times for Barca from 1998 to 2015.

Messi recently played his 700th game for the club in a game against Leganes in LaLiga this season. He became only the third player to surpass the 700-game mark behind Xavi and Andres Iniesta. He currently has 705 appearances under his belt for Barcelona.

#4 Most appearances for Argentina

Will Messi break Argentina's all-time record?

On the international front, the Lionel Messi holds the record for being the all-time top scorer for Argentina with 65 goals to his credit. However, he is yet to become the most capped player for his country.

Javier Zanetti has made the most number of appearances(143) for Argentina.

Zanetti’s record was on the verge of remaining intact, but Messi's retirement postLa Albiceleste’sfinal loss to Chile was short-lived.

Messi currently has 128 caps for his country.

The striker announced his return to the international stage before the World Cup qualifiers, only to taste defeat yet again as Argentina failed to make it to the World Cup finals. His return has increased his chances of surpassing his team mate's record for his country.

#3 Barcelona player with most Champions League final appearances

Messi has played three UCL finals for Barcelona.

Out of the five Champions League trophies that Barcelona have won, Messi has played in three finals, winning all three. The striker made his three appearances in 2009, 2011 and 2015 respectively.

However, it is Andres Iniesta who holds the record for most Champions League final appearances. The 2006 Champions League final remains the only difference the Spaniard and Messi.

An injury denied the Barca attacker from featuring in the final versus Arsenal. However, it remains to be seen if Barca can reach the finals this year.

With Iniesta gone, Messi has a good chance of etching his name across this record. However, it remains to be seen if Barcelona can play two more UCL finals so that the Argentinian can break his former teammate’s record.

#2 Most goals in a single LaLiga game

Messi has scored four goals in a single match on multiple occasions.

Both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have destroyed multiple goal-scoring records in both LaLiga and the UEFA Champions League but here's one record that still stands – 86 years after it was first set in the Spanish top division.

Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 5 goals in a single La Liga match on two different occasions, while Messi has achieved the same feat in the Champions League. But, there have been two players in LaLiga history to score 7 goals in a single fixture.

Athletic Bilbao's Agustin Sauto scored seven goals in one game back in 1932, a feat that was then repeated in 1952 by Barcelona's Laszlo Kubala. Messi, on the other hand, has scored only four goals in a single LaLiga match.

#1 Score in every minute of a football match

Messi hasn't yet scored in the first two minutes of a game.

This, by far, remains the toughest record to be broken by Lionel Messi. His arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo and former Barcelona team-mate Zlatan Ibrahimovic are the only two players in the world who have achieved this feat. If he can achieve this record, he will be the third player in the world to do so.

Messi has yet to score in first two minutes of a football match. Scoring in every minute of a football game is no mean feat as a player’s luck also plays a massive part in helping him achieve this milestone.

The Barca legend scored the fastest goal of his career at 2:08 minutes in a Champions League game against Chelsea last season. It remains to be seen if he can join Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic in this special 90-minute club before he hangs his boots.