Another day, another record broken! These days, a month rarely goes by without Lionel Messi breaking a new record. Virtually every time he plays, the Argentine attacker appears to shatter some kind of mark or milestone. His tendency for record-breaking on the football field is nothing new – and it knows no bounds.
This player has brought the world of football to its knees and has knocked down all-time football scoring records in an extraordinary fashion.Â
He isn’t nominally a striker, yet manages to outscore almost everyone. You couldn’t really classify him as a midfielder either, he has provided more assists than most. As a playmaker or number 10, he can out-pass just about anyone, and his completion rate of over 90 % again elevates him into the highest company.
Messi has scored 206 goals with his favored left foot, 38 with his right, eight with his head and one, which should have been ruled out, with his hand.
He is simply from another planet!
NewsMobile takes a look at the little Argentine’s splendid records. Since Messi is only 27, some of these records are going to be obliterated for sure!
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La Liga’s all-time top goalscorer – 253Â
Messi’s hat-trick in the 5-1 win over Sevilla saw him become La Liga’s all-time top goalscorer.  He took his taly to a staggering 253 in just 250 starts for Barcelona.Â
Telmo Zarra had held the record since the 1950s having scored 251 for Athletic Bilbao.Â
Barcelona’s top goalscorer – 368
In March earlier this year, Messi became Barcelona’s all-time leading goalscorer with a hat-trick in a 7-0 thrashing of Osasuna.
The clash saw the Argentine match Paulino Alcantara’s previous record as he received a rapturous applause from the Nou Camp crowd.
Including friendlies, Messi has now scored 396 goals for the club.
Champions League top scorer – 74
The Barcelona star’s brace in the 2-0 win over Ajax saw him draw level with Raul at the top of the all-time Champions League scoring charts.
With his hat-trick against Apoel Nicosia, he surpassed Raul’s record. He has scored 74 goals in 92 games in the competition.Â
Now, it looks a straight battle between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as Ronaldo who has scored 70 goals in the competition looks to displace the Argentine.
Most goals in a calendar year – 91
The Argentine scored an incredible 91 goals in 2012 – bringing the curtain down with a strike against Valladolid in December of that year.
Gerd Muller’s previous record of 85 had been broken by Messi – for club and country – earlier in the month before increasing his tally further.
Most goals in European season – 68
The 2011/12 campaign saw Messi complete the most prolific season in the history of European football.
A treble against Malaga saw the Barca star take his tally to a ridiculous 68 – moving ahead of Gerd Muller’s record with Bayern Munich.
Cristiano Ronaldo will be out to break that record this campaign, having notched 23 goals already.
Most goals in a La Liga season – 50
The same season saw Messi smash the La Liga record for most goals in a season.
His half a century came in just 37 appearances for Barcelona as they lost out to Real Madrid.
Remarkably, 44 of those goals came with his left-foot and just one with his head.
Most Ballon d’Or wins – 4
Messi has claimed the world prize four times – all achieved in succession between 2009 and 2012.
Remarkably, he has been in the top two of the voting every year since 2007 with only Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo (twice) coming ahead of him.
The Portuguese is also favourite to pip Messi to this year’s coveted prize.
Most consecutive La Liga matches scored in – 21
Just to compare this achievement, the record for the Premier League is held by Ruud van Nistelrooy – who scored in 10 successive games for Manchester United in 2003.
Messi’s streak – achieved in 2013 – saw him net in consecutive matches against every single team in La Liga.
Needless to say, he was the first footballer in history to achieve that feat too.
Most goals in a single European Cup game – 5
The Argentine was the first foobtaller to score 5 in a single game and now shares this record with Shakhtar Donetsk striker Luiz Adriano – who notched five against BATE Borisov earlier this season.
Messi’s haul came in his incredible 2011/12 campaign in a 7-1 victory over Bayer Leverkusen.
After the clash Leverkusen boss Robin Dott claimed he was “in another galaxy”.
Wherever he goes, he scores:Â
Messi has scored in 21 different cities in the Champions League, more than any other player. He is also the top scorer in Clasico clashes with 21 goals in the famous fixture, having surpassed Real Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stefano’s mark of 18 earlier in 2014.Â
The Rosario-born attacker is also the first player in the history of Spanish football to score 40 or more goals in five consecutive seasons. He hit 47 in all competitions in 2009-10, and then 53, 73, 60 and 41 respectively in the next four campaigns.
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Most goals in El Clasico – 21
In the fierce Barcelona vs Real Madrid, Messi leads Los Blancos legends Alfredo Di Stefano (18) and Raul (15) for goals scoed.
The Barca No.10 has notched 14 times in La Liga matches against Real, plus five in the Super Cup and two in a Champions League victory at the Bernabeu in 2011.
Messi’s hat-trick in the clash back in March saw him break history
Most La Liga hat-tricks in a season – 8
Talking of trebles, Messi unsurprisingly holds the record for the most in a campaign – that incredible 2011/12 season.
His hat-trick against Granada took his tally to eight and in turn broke Barca’s all-time record.
Osasuna, Atletico Madrid, Mallorca, Malaga and Valencia were all on the receiving end in the league, while Leverkusen and Plzen lost out in Europe.