Lionel Messi is considered one of the best soccer players of all time, especially after his World Cup victory for Argentina in 2022. But he was already considered the greatest soccer player by many for his club career with Barcelona, which is perhaps the best club career by a single player ever.
Messi left the club unceremoniously in 2021, and many felt he could have returned there this season. After all, he is their best player ever, and a certain record proves just that fact.
Lionel Messi became Barcelona’s all-time leading scorer 12 years ago
Lionel Messi is the best player for FC Barcelona in their 125-year history, with no other player leaving an impact equal to his. He is their all-time goal scorer as well, with 672 official goals in 778 total appearances. It is also the record for the most goals by a player for a single club.
However, Messi became the record holder 12 years ago, in 2012, when he scored a brilliant hat trick against Granada. It put him at 234 goals and he broke the previous record of Cesar Rodriguez with 232 goals. Cesar had held the record for 55 years until Messi broke it. Since then, Messi has scored 445 more goals to create a truly impressive scoring stat.
12 years ago, Leo Messi scored his 234th Barcelona goal to become the club's all-time leading scorer.
— B/R Football (@brfootball) March 20, 2024
He finished with 672.
It'll take something š¬š©ššš¢šš„ to ever top that š pic.twitter.com/EVJ5bQHkyM
Messi’s goal-scoring record is further exemplified by his goals scored per 90 minutes, which is an impressive 0.86. Only one other player breaks that with 0.90, which is Catalan legend Mariano Martin. He is also the club’s top scorer in every competition they have played in, and he is also their top assist provider with 269.
His 778 appearances for them are also the most in the club’s history. Along with these stats and having won so much with them, there is no doubt as to who is their best player ever. He is forever replaceable, though the club believe they may have found a successor.
Some Lionel Messi records are unlikely to be broken in the future
Lionel Messi is a serial record breaker and he boasts a lot of records that cannot be matched. He was a freak of nature in his prime years, and he is still very dangerous currently.
One of the records that will never be broken will be his legendary 2012 campaign. The Argentine maestro had scored an impressive 91 goals in that year, and it doesn’t seem anyone can ever get closer to that record anytime soon. His 50 La Liga goals that season are also the most league goals in a single season by any player.
Messi’s playmaking is often appreciated by many and his assists record just proves that. With 346, he is the one with the most assists in soccer history.
Messi is also the proud owner of 8 Ballon d’Or awards and 6 Golden Shoe Awards, which is the most in both award’s history. Only Ronaldo is close with 5 Ballon d’Or awards and 4 Golden Shoe Awards. A more recent record is that he is the only player to have scored in the group stage, round of 16, quarterfinal, semifinal, and final of a single World Cup.
There is no doubt that Lionel Messi is one of the best players in soccer history, and all of these records speak for themselves. He is now at Inter Miami, where he will continue to build on that success.
