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Lionel Messi continues to defy the normal laws of aging and deliver top-notch performances for club and country. 2021 was no exception to the norm, as the Argentine icon had arguably the best year of his career.
Lionel Messi achieved unprecedented success in 2021
For Lionel Messi, winning an international trophy with his native Argentina was one of the biggest motivations behind his longevity. The 34-year-old came close on three previous occasions as he lost three finals with Argentina between 2014 and 2016. In 2021, however, Lionel Messi finally broke his duck as he led Argentina to glory in the Copa America for their first trophy in 28 years.
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Lionel Messi changed clubs for the first time in his professional career in 2021 after joining French giants Paris Saint-Germain. The diminutive forward had a year to remember—here is a list of five records he newly set or broke in 2021.
#5. Most appearances for Argentina
Lionel Messi started out as an Argentine international at just 18 years of age in 2005 under Jose Pekerman. He famously received a red card on his debut against Hungary after the referee deemed him to have intentionally elbowed a defender just two minutes after coming on as a substitute.
Lionel Messi returned to the squad shortly after and formed part of the team that went to the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He featured in the second group match against Serbia and Montenegro, making him the youngest Argentine to appear at a World Cup. He scored on his World Cup debut for his country.
Messi became Argentina's record appearance maker when he took to the pitch against Bolivia in the 2021 Copa America. He equalled Javier Mascherano's record of 147 appearances against Paraguay and broke the record against Bolivia. He scored two goals and assisted another for La Albiceleste in the landmark game. Messi has gone on to make 158 appearances in Argentine colors.
#4. First man to win 7 Ballon d'Or awards
Lionel Messi picked up his seventh Ballon d'Or award in 2021, extending his record as the player with the highest number of Ballon d'Or awards ever. Messi beat stern competition from Robert Lewandowski and Jorginho, who finished in second and third place respectively.
Messi's Copa America triumph with Argentina was a big factor in winning his most recent Ballon d'Or. The 34-year old won his first Ballon d'Or in 2009 and has not looked back since then, winning six more in the next 12 years of his career.
#3. Most international goals by a South American player
Before Lionel Messi was born, Edson Arantes do Nascimento (Pele) reigned supreme in South America, scoring a hatful of goals to become the highest goalscorer for any South American nation. Pele was picked by many as the greatest football player of all time for his immense contribution to Brazilian football.
Before Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, Pele held many of the world’s goalscoring records, but he has now seen a good number of his records shattered. One such record is the record for most goals scored by a South American player on the international stage.
Pele scored 77 goals in 91 appearances for the Selecao in his career, helping them to win the FIFA World Cup three times. Lionel Messi smashed Pele's record in style to become the highest-scoring South American player of all time.
He scored a hat-trick for Argentina in a FIFA World Cup qualifier against Bolivia to become the outright top scorer in international football from South America. Messi has gone on to score 80 goals in 158 games for Argentina since his debut.
#2. Most goals in a single league
Lionel Messi played in the Spanish La Liga for the entirety of his career before making the move to PSG in the summer of 2021. Messi left an indelible mark on the league, scoring an incredible number of goals during his time at Barcelona.
Before Lionel Messi, Pele had scored the most goals in a single league, with 469 in the Brazilian Serie A. In 2021, Messi bested that total as he scored 474 goals for Barcelona in La Liga between 2005 and 2021.
Messi's tally of 474 La Liga goals was also the highest number of league goals a player has scored for a single side.
#1. First man to win the Ballon d'Or in three separate decades
Winning the Ballon d'Or for an unprecedented seventh time in 2021 made Lionel Messi the first man in history to pick up the award in three separate decades.
Lionel Messi won his first Ballon d'Or in 2009 as a 22-year-old and his seventh at 34 years of age in 2021, thus winning the award in the 2000s, 2010s and 2020s. His nearest competitor for such longevity is Cristiano Ronaldo, who won the award five times in total over two decades: the 2000s and 2010s.
