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Being a 21st-century footballer, Lionel Messi is routinely scrutinized by pundits all across the globe, paid or unpaid.
Paragraphs are dedicated to the slightest of his mistakes. Critics regularly jump on the bandwagon to discredit him. But at the end of the day, when it is all said and done, they go home, admitting that there is something absolutely inhuman about the diminutive Argentine.
Seven-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi is arguably the greatest footballer to have ever lived. From scoring mesmerizing solo goals to providing defense-piercing assists, Messi has checked every box to become a complete forward.
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Over the last 17 years, he has turned every stone thrown at him into milestones, creating a legacy that is guaranteed to withstand the test of time.
On the occasion of his 35th birthday (June 24), we will take a look at five of Messi’s lesser-known records that could remain unbothered for the foreseeable future.
Here are five mind-boggling records held by the Paris Saint-Germain star that every fan must know:
#5 Longest goalscoring streak in La Liga
Rising through Barcelona’s famed academy La Masia, Messi spent 17 glory-laden seasons with the club's senior team in La Liga.
Between 2004 and 2021, he played 520 league games for Barcelona, recording 474 goals and 216 assists, becoming the leading goalscorer in the history of La Liga.
In the 2012-13 season, the Argentina international created a unique La Liga record, one that firmly established him as the division’s most consistent goalscorer. Between matchday 11 and matchday 34, Messi scored in every single La Liga game, bagging a total of 33 goals in 21 consecutive matches.
His unmatched run saw him break Gerd Muller’s record, set in the 1969-70 Bundesliga season.
#4 Top scorer in history for one club
Pele created a seemingly unbreakable record for Santos, scoring 643 goals in 659 games for the Brazilian outfit.
For a long time, no player even came close to scoring as many goals for a single club, but eventually, an Argentine dethroned the Brazil legend.
Before joining Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2021, he spent 17 seasons with the Barcelona senior team, winning 10 La Liga titles and four Champions League trophies.
In that stretch, he played 775 games for the Catalan outfit, scoring 670 goals and providing 302 assists, shattering Pele’s formidable record.
#3 Highest number of goals in a single year in official competitions
Messi has enjoyed quite a few blistering seasons in football, but his very best came in the 2011-12 campaign, with him banging goals left, right, and centre in every competition.
The 35-year-old won the La Liga’s top scorer award, the Pichichi, with 50 goals. He also secured the European Golden Boot in the aftermath of a record-breaking campaign.
He scored 14 goals in 11 Champions League games, three in seven Copa del Rey matches, and added three more in two Spanish Super Cup outings.
Messi also scored one goal in the UEFA Super Cup and two in the Club World Cup, making one and two appearances, respectively.
He played 60 official games across competitions that season, registering a record 73 goals and 32 assists.
The Argentina skipper ended the 2012 calendar year with 91 goals, creating another unfathomable record.
#2 Only player to win four top individual honors in the same season
In the 2009-10 campaign, Messi was pretty much at the top of his game, tearing defenses apart for fun. He scored a whopping 47 goals in 53 appearances across competitions.
The former Barca star also displayed impeccable playmaking skills, snagging 11 assists as well. His contributions helped the Blaugrana to the Spanish Super Cup, the UEFA Super Cup, and the La Liga title.
On the back of the blistering campaign, Messi won the Ballon d’Or (his second), La Liga’s top scorer award, the Pichichi (34 goals), and the European Golden Boot (68 points).
The Argentine superstar was also chosen as the 'FIFA World Player of the Year', thus making him the first-ever player to complete the quadruple.
#1 Youngest player to win three Ballons d’Or
Having won seven Ballons d’Or, Messi is the record-breaking recipient of the prestigious individual accolade. Cristiano Ronaldo is the only player in the same vicinity, with the Portuguese bagging five awards in his career.
The Argentine maverick’s genius is not only defined by the number of Ballons d’Or he has at his disposal, but also by his longevity.
Messi first won the award in 2009, beating the previous year’s winner Ronaldo to the punch. Having won the treble with Barcelona in the 2008-09 campaign, the Argentine won the award by a landslide (47.88 percent votes), the biggest-ever margin in the accolade’s history.
He won the award again in 2010 and went on to complete his treble by winning the 2011 edition. At the time of the gala on January 9, 2012, Messi was 24 years, six months, and 16 days old, making him the youngest player to win three Golden Balls.
To put things in perspective, only Marco van Basten, Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini, and Cristiano Ronaldo have won three Ballons d’Or awards (or more) in their entire careers.
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