PSG star nears big career landmarks

There is not a lot left for Lionel Messi to win in a really astounding soccer career that has already seen the Paris Saint-Germain celebrity declare nearly each main trophy accessible to him, together with a number of Champions League triumphs with Barcelona and that treasured and beforehand elusive World Cup winner’s medal for Argentina.

Indeed, the one competitors that Messi has performed in and never received throughout his skilled career is the Coupe de France, though he’ll have to attend till subsequent season no less than for that elusive piece of silverware after Marseille’s win over PSG on Feb. 8 stopped him finishing his private clear sweep.

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However, since making his senior debut in 2004, Messi has accrued a really huge variety of honours and particular person information. And, even on the age of 35, he is nonetheless closing in on an array of great landmark achievements.

Here we check out his trophy haul, his career stats and the spectacular array of information he already holds, in addition to a complete rundown of the foremost career milestones he has in his sights with common updates as he nears every of them.

Messi’s career trophies

Since turning professional 19 years in the past, Messi has been stockpiling trophies at an absurdly constant fee. In truth, 2013-14 and 2019-20 had been the one trophyless seasons of his career (until you depend the “Pichichi” award as LaLiga’s high purpose scorer that he received in 2019-20).

One of essentially the most embellished gamers in soccer, the Argentine has 40 main honours to his identify at membership and worldwide stage, which leaves him simply shy of former Barca teammate Dani Alves’ file haul of 46. Messi’s longtime rival, Cristiano Ronaldo has 34 trophies beneath his belt.

Messi has received extra main trophies with Barcelona (35) than some other participant within the Catalan membership’s 123-year historical past. That complete contains 10 LaLiga titles, eight Spanish Supercopas, seven Copa del Reys and 4 Champions Leagues (together with 2005-06, when the teenaged Messi made six appearances together with begins in each legs of the round-of-16 win over Chelsea.)

Messi added two main membership titles throughout his maiden season in France (the Ligue 1 title and the Trophee des Champions) in addition to a hat trick of worldwide honours with Argentina; the CONMEBOL-UEFA Cup of Champions (also referred to as the Finalissima), the Copa America and the FIFA World Cup.

Records held by Messi

Messi holds many particular person information, befitting his standing as one of many best of all time. He has received the Ballon d’Or for being the world’s finest participant seven times, two greater than Ronaldo, who’s subsequent on the record. No different participant, male or feminine, has received it greater than 3 times.

Messi is also the one participant to have received the FIFA World Cup Golden Ball award twice: first when he was a dropping finalist in 2014, and once more after main his nation to glory on the 2022 match.

As effectively as being his former membership’s most embellished participant, Messi can also be Barca’s all-time high purpose scorer (672) and appearance-maker (778) following his 17-year affiliation.

He additionally holds the file for most complete targets scored by any participant in LaLiga (474) in addition to the most targets scored in a single LaLiga season (50) after reaching a half-century in 2011-12. Unbelievably, Messi additionally holds the file for most career league assists in LaLiga (192) and the file for the most assists made in a single season (21, in 2019-20), thus proving his extraordinary worth as a inventive pressure.

The former Barca ahead additionally has scored extra career hat methods in LaLiga (36) than some other participant, in addition to sharing the file for the most hat methods in a single season (eight, in 2011-12) with Ronaldo, who matched the feat with Real Madrid in 2014-15.

Messi’s untouchable kind in 2012 additionally noticed him set a file as the person with most targets in single calendar yr by scoring 91 occasions: 79 for Barca, 12 for Argentina.

He is also the most frequent scorer in El Clasico matches between Barca and Real Madrid with 26 targets in 45 video games. Ronaldo is joint-second on 18 targets (in 30 video games,) alongside fellow Madrid nice Alfredo Di Stefano.

As additional testomony to Messi’s longevity and consistency, he has made extra LaLiga appearances than some other foreign-born participant (520) whereas additionally having received extra top-flight league titles in Spain than some other non-Spanish-born participant (10).

While Ronaldo stays the Champions League’s all-time high scorer with 140 targets, Messi nonetheless collectively holds the file for most hat methods scored within the competitors (eight, stage with Ronaldo). He was the first participant ever to attain 5 targets in a single Champions League match when he smashed a quintuple previous Bayer Leverkusen within the 2011-12 spherical of 16.

Messi additionally holds the Champions League information for most complete targets within the spherical of 16 (29 targets) and the most targets scored within the group stage (80), whereas Ronaldo holds the corresponding information for the knockout part total (67), the quarterfinals (25), the semifinals (13) and the ultimate (4).

Lionel Messi holds the file for most dwelling targets scored within the Champions League with 78 (Ronaldo holds the file for away targets with 63), whereas additionally being the solely participant in competitors historical past to have scored towards 40 completely different opponents. He additionally has scored extra targets for one membership within the Champions League (120 for Barcelona) than some other participant.

And simply so as to add slightly extra icing to an already top-heavy cake, Messi’s run of scoring in 18 consecutive Champions League seasons between 2005-06 and 2022-23 can also be a contest file.

MESSI’S MILESTONES

1,000 career video games (Messi on 1,011) ACHIEVED

Messi took his complete of senior matches performed for membership and nation into 4 figures on the 2022 World Cup, within the round-of-16 win over Australia. Naturally, he scored one of many targets within the 2-1 win en path to lifting the trophy.

900 career membership video games (Messi on 871)

Messi can see the 900th look of his senior membership career on the horizon. The most variety of matches doubtlessly remaining in PSG’s schedule this season will not get him there, however he might attain it through the early a part of the 2023-24 marketing campaign.

800 career targets (Messi on 797)

Messi is near changing into solely the second participant ever (relying on who’s numbers you utilize) to achieve the 800-goal milestone, following within the wake of Cristiano Ronaldo, who introduced up his eighth century with a brace in Manchester United’s 3-2 victory over Arsenal in December 2021.

As far because the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) is worried, Ronaldo is at the moment the world-record holder with 824 official targets for membership and nation. But different sources differ attributable to historic inconsistencies within the classification of “official” targets scored in “official” competitions.

For instance, Pele claimed to have scored effectively over 1,000 targets throughout his career however due to the unreliability of the info collected throughout his heyday within the Fifties and 60s, and which targets depend as being scored in “official” matches versus “friendlies,” the Brazil legend’s tally might be as little as 757 targets.

700 career non-penalty targets (Messi on 689)

While many contemplate his consistency from the spot to be one of many few weak components to his sport, Messi has nonetheless efficiently transformed 108 occasions from 12 yards for membership and nation.

20 consecutive years with a senior purpose (Messi on 19)

Messi wants to search out the web simply as soon as subsequent yr (2024) to make it two full a long time with no less than one purpose registered every season therein. Two years Messi’s senior, Ronaldo’s scoring streak stands at 22 consecutive years now that he has opened his account for 2023 with Saudi aspect Al Nassr.

700 membership targets (Messi on 699)

Messi complete — cut up between Barcelona (672) and PSG means he’ll imminently attain the identical milestone as Ronaldo did with a purpose for Manchester United in a 2-1 win towards Everton in October (which proved to be his final for the membership.)

300 membership assists (Messi on 294)

For all of the cavalcade of targets scored by means of the years, Messi can also be a extremely constant assister and as such is only a few through-balls away from reaching a complete of 300 in membership competitors, a practical achievement earlier than the top of the marketing campaign.

1,000 membership purpose contributions (Messi on 993)

Just to hammer dwelling the whole nature of his attacking abilities, Messi’s complete career purpose contributions (i.e. targets plus assists) in membership soccer is near 4 figures. Staggering.

500 membership league targets (Messi on 491)

Ronaldo was the primary of the duo to move 500 targets in membership league video games after scoring the eleventh four-goal haul of his career for Al Nassr towards Al Wehda on Feb. 10. However, Messi is just not far behind, and is even nearer to eclipsing Ronaldo’s complete of 495 targets in Europe’s high 5 leagues.

50 targets in Champions League knockout part (Messi on 49)

Messi is near his half-century of targets on the enterprise finish of Europe’s high membership competitors, with just one man forward of him: Ronaldo holds the file with 67 targets in 80 video games between the spherical of 16 and the ultimate.

100 senior worldwide targets (Messi on 98)

Already the all-time high appearance-maker (172 video games) and purpose scorer (98 targets) for his nationwide workforce, Messi is near changing into the primary Argentina participant to attain 100 targets. Trailing Messi by a substantial distance, Gabriel Batistuta is second on the record of the Albiceleste‘s highest scorers with 56 targets in 78 video games, whereas the nice Diego Maradona is fifth total with 34 targets in 91 video games.

Ronaldo is the person with essentially the most targets scored in senior internationals of all time, with 118 for Portugal in 196 video games.

Despite each gamers being nearer to 40 years of age than they’re to 30, count on them to maintain writing information for some time but.

ESPN’s Stats & Information Group contributed to this report