Lionel Messi has shattered a number of world records since becoming a professional footballer
The Argentine achieved incredible feats during his years at the Spanish club Barcelona, where he spent over 17 years
He holds a number of Guinness World Records, but here we look at seven of the massive achievements
Argentine legend Lionel Messi holds a staggering number of Guinness World Records, and the Inter-Miami-bound superstar is expected to smash more before he retires.
The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner has already bagged 34 trophies at club level, making him one of the most decorated footballers ever.
Messi has won the FIFA World Cup, Copa América and CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions titles on the international scene.
Sport Skeeda reports that the Barcelona legend holds a staggering number of fabulous records, and here we look at 7 Guinness World Records held by Lionel Messi.
7. Most Man of the Match awards won at the FIFA World Cup – 11:
The Guinness World Records confirmed that Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Arjen Robben had each won six Man of the Match awards at FIFA World Cup tournaments before the 2022 edition in Qatar.
However, the Argentine pulled away from the pack earning Man of the Match in five games at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, including the final.
6. Youngest player to score 50 Goals in the Champions League
The then-Barcelona star was just 24 when he scored his 50th goal in the UEFA Champions League, achieving such a feat on April 3, 2012.
It was a quarter-final clash against AC Milan, where he netted a brace in Barcelona’s 3-1 win.
Messi became the youngest player in the tournament’s history to reach that milestone.
5. Most appearances on a video game cover
Messi is the most featured on video game covers in multiple franchises, including the FIFA games series from EA Sports and the PES games series from Konami.
The Argentine has graced 10 video game covers – PES 2009, PES 2010, PES 2011, FIFA Street, FIFA 13, FIFA 14, FIFA 15, FIFA 16, PES 17, and the PES 18 Legendary Edition.
4 Highest annual earnings by a footballer
At 35, Messi is the highest-earning player. His arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo earned that status for the past two seasons running.
The Argentine overtook bonuses as he now earns $80 million a year, with an additional $27 million coming from various endorsement deals.
3. Most Goals in a UEFA Champions League Match
In 2012, Bayer Leverkusen needed a miracle to upturn their 3-1 first-leg loss to Barcelona as they travelled to Camp Nou.
Unfortunately, the night belonged to Messi, who scored five goals, becoming the first player to do so in a Champions League match.
Luis Adriano has since equalled the record while playing for Shakhtar Donetsk against BATE Borisov in 2014.
2. Most La Liga appearances by a foreign player
The Argentinean featured in 520 La Liga matches for Barcelona between 2004 and 2021, making him the foreign player with most La Liga appearances.
He netted 474 league goals in total, and it is only fair that he has the record of the most appearances in La Liga by a foreign player to his name.
1. Most Goals scored by a substitute in a Copa America Match
On June 10, 2016, Messi netted a hattrick against Panama at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois, USA, despite coming on as a substitute.
Otamendi put La Albiceleste ahead in the 7th minute, but the goals flooded in as soon as Messi came on in the 61st minute of that game.
It took him just seven minutes of his introduction to make it 2-0. Messi made it 3-0 in the 78th minute before completing his hat-trick nine minutes later before Sergio Aguero added the icing on the cake, making it 5-0