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The end of the decade is just around the corner prompting football fans across the world to reminisce some of the greatest talents and mouth-watering performances to have graced pitches in the last 10 years. Two names, in particular, stand out for the extraordinary consistency with which they have transformed the beautiful game and the unprecedented records they have set along the way - Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
In this article, we will focus on the Barcelona skipper, as we trace some of his most remarkable achievements in the course of the decennary. The diminutive forward made his senior debut in 2004 but he was already tipped for greatness by a section of fans and critics at the time.
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Since then, the Rosario-born player has carried the hopes of the Catalan faithful on his shoulders and has proven himself more than capable of doing so, having helped the Blaugrana to a club-record 34 trophies including ten La Liga titles, four UEFA Champions Leagues and six Copas del Reys.
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Even at 32, the Argentina international is still the engine that drives the Barcelona team and although his role has evolved in the latter part of the decade, he remains one of the most transcendent talents to have emerged not only from La Masia but every other famed academy in football.
Having said that, we take a look at ten of Messi's most incredible records from the present decade:
#1 Most Ballon d'Or wins by a player
Messi and Ronaldo have commanded a stranglehold over the prestigious Ballon d'Or for more than a decade and this duopoly even intensified the already-existing rivalry between the two players.
The talismanic pair previously shared the record for the most number of wins (5) but the Argentine skipper finally got the better of his Portuguese counterpart when he won the highly-coveted prize for a record sixth time on December 2 this year.
The win makes him the player with the most Ballon d'Or wins in history, having previously won the award in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2015.
Messi fought off competition from Liverpool defender and Champions League winner Virgil van Dijk as well as Juventus marksman Cristiano Ronaldo.
#2 La Liga's all-time top scorer and assist provider
Messi has cemented his status as La Liga's greatest-ever goal-scorer after surpassing Telmo Zarra's record of 251 goals by scoring a hat-trick against Sevilla in November 2014. At the time, the achievement marked the first time in 55 years that any player has touched the record.
Since then, the 32-year-old has increased his tally in the Spanish top-flight to 432 goals from just 465 games, a milestone that will take some time for any player to beat. His closest competitor is Ronaldo, who tallied 311 goals during his nine-year stint with Real Madrid and Zarra, who previously held the record for more than five decades.
The Argentine wizard also boasts of being the finest creator in the league's history with 169 assists to his name. He is followed by Xavi Hernandez with 126 assists and Ronaldo with 95.
#3 Most goals scored in a calendar year
Seven years ago, Messi set arguably the most logic-defying record in football history by scoring a mind-blowing 91 goals in a single calendar year.
The record was previously held by German icon Gerd Muller, who netted 85 goals in 1972, and was originally beaten by Messi when he scored his 85th and 86th goals of 2012 in a 2-1 win over Real Betis in La Liga.
The Argentine went on to finish the year with 91 goals and 29 assists from 69 games, taking his goal contribution tally to a staggering 120.
#4 Most European Golden Shoe wins
Messi was rewarded with a series of accolades for his scintillating individual performances last season. The Argentine superstar tallied 51 goals in all competitions for Barcelona and guided them to a consecutive La Liga title at the end of the campaign.
Among these prizes is the European Golden Shoe which was presented to the Blaugrana skipper for scoring 36 goals in the Spanish top-flight, which is more than any other player in Europe's top five leagues.
The win made the 32-year-old forward the first and only player to win the award six times, with Juventus marksman Ronaldo the only player to come close with four awards.
Messi narrowly beat Kylian Mbappe to the award as the Frenchman only needed to score four goals for Paris Saint-Germain to collect the Golden Shoe.
#5 Scored against the most number of teams in the Champions League
A month after he equalled the joint-record for scoring against the most teams in the UEFA Champions League (33), Messi went on to outrightly monopolised the accomplishment by scoring against a 34th different team in November 2019.
The Barcelona captain doubled the reigning Spanish champions' lead against Borussia Dortmund in their Group F clash at the Camp Nou to surpass Ronaldo and Raul as the player who has scored against the highest number of opposition teams in the competition.
#6 Most goals scored in a single season
In addition to being the player with the most goals in a calendar year, Messi also broke the record for the highest number of goals in a single season during the 2011-12 campaign.
The six-time Ballon d'Or winner netted a total of 73 goals for club and country, beating Gerd Muller who scored 67 goals in the 1972-73 season. 50 of those goals came in La Liga, three in the domestic cup, 14 during international games with Argentina and six in other competitions.
#7 Only player in history to score in 15 consecutive Champions League seasons
Messi endured a slow start to his European campaign this season but he quickly made up for it by scoring the opener in Barcelona's 2-1 win over Czech outfit Slavia Prague back in October.
The goal may have initially appeared like just another effort for the diminutive Argentine but it ended up making him the first player in history to score in 15 consecutive Champions League seasons, breaking a tie he previously shared with Real Madrid's Raul and Karim Benzema.
#8 Most league goals in the history of Europe’s top five divisions
Two seasons after breaking Telmo Zarra’s La Liga goalscoring record, Messi became the player with the highest-ever league goals tally across Europe's top five divisions with an astonishing 432 goals in the Spanish top-flight.
The Argentine's goal-scoring exploits helped him surpass a record of 357 goals held by former England international Jimmy Greaves’ in a top European league.
#9 Only player in history to score 40+ club goals in 10 consecutive seasons
Messi is considered one of the most prolific goalscorers of our generation not simply because of his efficiency in front of goal but also the consistency with which he executes his duties.
The Argentina captain has proven this by becoming the only football player in history to score at least 40 goals in 10 consecutive seasons for a club starting from the 2009-10 campaign.
Goals scored by Lionel Messi for Barcelona in the last decade
2009-10: 47 goals
2010-11: 53 goals
2011-12: 73 goals
2012-13: 60 goals
2013-14: 41 goals
2014-15: 58 goals
2015-16: 41 goals
2016-17: 54 goals
2017-18: 45 goals
2018-19: 51 goals
#10 Most official goals for a single club in Europe’s top five leagues
Messi boasts of being the record-holder for the most official goals scored for a single club in Europe’s top five leagues.
The 32-year-old has so far registered 618 goals and 260 assists from 702 appearances for Barcelona, thereby surpassing Gerd Muller's tally of 565 goals for Bayern Munich. The German legend is followed by Portuguese legend Eusebio, who scored 473 goals in 440 games for SL Benfica.
