4 Lionel Messi records that would be difficult to break

Lionel Messi is unquestionably one of the best footballers to have ever played the game and during his remarkable career, he has broken countless records along the way.

With the Argentinian making and breaking new footballing records in almost every match he plays, his record collection seems to be ever expanding and with many more years left in his career, there are more amazing feats that Messi will likely achieve.

However, despite the wishes of fans across the world Messi will one day hang up his boots for good and it is during this time that he will no longer be able to actively participate in protecting his records.

With this in mind, it is interesting to consider which of the Messi records would be the hardest to break when he calls time on his glittering career.

#4 Scoring 91 goals in a calendar year

Messi in action

In 2012 Lionel Messi scored an incomparable 91 goals for club and country and broke Gerd Muller's record of 85 goals in a calendar year.

This incredible record by Messi shows that at both the tail end of the 2011-12 season and the start of the 2012-13 season he was scoring at an astoundingly consistent rate with the long summer break away from competitive football doing nothing to blunt his razor sharp goal scoring accuracy when it came to the start of the new season.

In addition, it demonstrates that Messi wasn't feeling fatigued at the end of the long 2011-12 campaign nor was he showing any signs of being out of practice at the start of 2012-13 campaign despite being away from competitive football for most of the summer.

By fully appreciating these facts, one can truly realise how impressive this record is and for another player to eclipse it they would need to perform at an even higher level with greater consistency which seems like an almost impossible task. With Gerd Muller's previous record of 85 goals in a single year standing for 40 years before being broken, it is likely this record will stand for even longer.

#3 Winning 4 Ballons d'Or in a row

Messi with his 5th Ballon d'Or

Although Messi and Ronaldo currently both sit at 5 Ballon d'Ors each having dominated the competition over the last decade, Messi's achievement of winning 4 golden balls consecutively between 2009-2012 is a record with the Argentine overtaking Platini's record of 3 Ballon d'Ors in a row which stood for over 20 years.

This record not only demonstrates the talent of the Argentine but also the desire, determination, consistency, and hard work he put in to achieve this feat.

To be considered the best player in the world is the dream of all footballers and for Messi to have been the only player officially recognised as the best in the world for four consecutive years amplifies the dominance he had over football during this period

Although Ronaldo has won four of the last five Ballon d'Ors, Messi's victory in 2015 means he was unable to equal the Argentine's feat of 4 in a row, however with the Portuguese's incredible start to 2018 there is a chance still for Ronaldo to eclipse this record even if it is a slim one.

With no clearly visible heir to Messi and Ronaldo's throne, it is hard to imagine that the next generation will produce a player capable of eclipsing this record.

#2 Scoring the most goals in La Liga history

Messi - La Liga record scorer

Another Messi record certainly difficult to beat is his record as La Liga's all time top goal scorer. With 374 goals to his name at the time of writing (and counting), Messi is the clear leader on the all time list with the only real challenger to this record being none other than Ronaldo. Although CR7 has scored a staggering 307 goals in just 288 games, unless Messi retires this season or moves to another club (the former being impossible the latter being improbable) it is hard to see Ronaldo ever catching this record or any player for that matter.

Staying at one club or in one league for over a decade is becoming somewhat of a rarity for football players nowadays, with Ronaldo being the appropriate case in point.

This aspect of the modern game married with Messi's retirement from football being a long time away means his already staggering figure of 374 goals is going to keep going up making the task of overtaking it even more arduous and as Ronaldo's chance of breaking the record is most likely dependent on the future career choices of Messi, it appears that this record is safe for the near and distant future.

This record showcases the outstanding consistency that Messi has maintained throughout his entire career in La Liga, with the Argentine demonstrating that he is a goal scorer of the highest order and it is because of this and all the other reasons discussed why it is appropriate to include this record on the list.

#1 Scoring 73 goals in a single season at a top 6 European league

Messi celebrating a goal

During the 2011/12 campaign, Messi set new footballing standards with a record-breaking season that saw him score 73 goals in all competitions.

This record-breaking haul is definitely one of Messi's best achievements as in this season the Argentinian maestro illustrated his ability to perform and score in all competitions hitting a record 50 goals in La Liga and a then-record 14 goals in the Champions League.

Whilst Messi has demonstrated his capability of consistently scoring 50 goals in a season this record of 73 is truly amazing even by his standards and when considering that most strikers score half of that total in a season it amplifies what an amazing achievement this is.

Given the high bar Messi has set with this record, it's hard to foresee it being broken anytime soon.