Lionel Messi has made a habit of rewriting history
at Barcelona and his hat-trick against Sevilla on
Saturday means he is now La Liga's all-time top
goalscorer. The previous mark had stood since
1955. But by the time he has finished, Messi's
may last forever.
Asked about the possibility of Messi surpassing
Telmo Zarra's recently, Luis Enrique's reply was
that the record was of little interest. After all, it was
not a matter of if, but when the tally would be
surpassed.
Perhaps more significantly, the Barca boss claimed
his players had not commented on the record in
the dressing room. And that's possibly because
Messi has made a career of achieving the
unthinkable, normalising what for most is
impossible.
Virtually every time he plays, the Argentine
attacker appears to shatter some kind of mark or
milestone. His propensity for record-breaking on
the football field is nothing new - and it knows no
bounds.
Still only 27, the Argentine celebrated 10 years
since his Barcelona debut last month and is likely
to go on and set many more marks over the
coming campaigns. But in light of his latest
achievement in La Liga, Goal looks at some of his
most remarkable records to date and a few others
he is close to breaking for club and country.
3 - The Argentine holds the record for most hat-
tricks in the Champions League, having hit four
(against Arsenal, Viktoria Plzen, Bayer Leverkusen
and Ajax).
4 - Messi is the only player in history to win four
Ballons d'Or. Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini and
Marco van Basten all won three. He is also the
only footballer to finish as top scorer in the
Champions League on four separate occasions.
5 - The Argentine is the first player in Champions
League history to score five goals in a single
match and the first to do so in the formerly named
European Cup since Ajax's Soren Lerby in 1979.
He is also the first Barcelona player to net five
since Jose Antonio Zaldua in 1965.
6 - In 2009, Pedro became the first player in
history to score goals in six competitions over one
year. But two years later, Messi emulated his
Barcelona team-mate by netting in La Liga, the
Copa del Rey, the Champions League, the Uefa
Super Cup, the Spanish Supercopa and the Club
World Cup.
7 - The 27-year-old has been on the final three-
man shortlist for the Ballon d'Or seven successive
times between 2007 and 2013, more than any
other player in history.
12 - The forward's 12 goals for Argentina in 2012
saw him match a feat achieved by compatriot
Gabriel Batistuta in 1998. No other player has
scored as many goals in a calendar year for
Argentina.
14 - Messi scored 14 times in the 2011-12
Champions League to equal Jose Altafini's record
for goals in a European season, since surpassed
by Cristiano Ronaldo (17) in 2013-14.
19 - The Argentine netted against all 19 teams in
La Liga in consecutive matches in 2012-13, a feat
never before achieved. Following a break through
injury, he also converted in his next two matches
and is the only player in history to score in 21
consecutive games in the Primera Division.
21 - 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.
22 - No player has won more trophies at Barcelona
than Xavi, but Messi is just one behind his 34-
year-old team-mate on 21 titles for the Catalan
club. Madrid legend Paco Gento holds the Spanish
record with 23, but Leo looks likely to overtake
them both as long as he stays in Catalunya for the
coming campaigns.
25 - Messi shares the record for most international
goals in a calendar year for club and country with
Cristiano Ronaldo and Vivian Woodward.
27 - The 27-year-old now has 27 hat-tricks for
Barcelona, one more than the 26 scored by
Cristiano for Madrid. Of those, 20 have come in La
Liga, leaving him just two behind the Portuguese,
Telmo Zarra and Alfredo Di Stefano (all on 22). He
has also scored three trebles for Argentina.
40 - The Rosario-born attacker is 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.
45 - Leo has 45 goals for Argentina and is closing
in on Batistuta's national record of 56. Messi
passed Diego Maradona's tally of 34 in 2013.
50 - The Argentine hit 50 goals in La Liga in
2011-12 to set a new record. That came after
Cristiano Ronaldo registered 40 in 2010-11 to beat
the previous mark of 38 shared by Telmo Zarra
and Hugo Sanchez.
73 - The Barcelona forward's 73 goals in all
competitions in 2011-12 saw him beat the
previous best of 67 in a European season, set by
German great Gerd Muller in 1972-73.
74 - The 27-year-old has 74 Champions League
goals and recently equalled the mark set by former
Real Madrid forward Raul. Cristiano Ronaldo (70) is
also in line to break the Spaniard's record, but
Messi got first crack as Barca were in action
away to APOEL on Tuesday and he got an hat trick. The Argentine has
scored his 74 in just 91 games, however, while the
Portuguese has played 107 times in Europe's
premier club competition. Raul's 71 goals came in
142 appearances.
91 - Messi also holds the record for most goals in
a calendar year, having hit 91 in 2012 to beat
Muller's mark of 85, which had stood since 1972.
The 79 he netted for Barcelona also betters the 72
scored by Muller for Bayern Munich in 1972.
101 - With 101 assists in La Liga, the Argentine is
just six short of the record held by former Barca
and Madrid winger Luis Figo (107). However,
statistics for assists only date back to 1995.
142 - Leo is the only player in Barcelona history to
score 100 or more league goals at Camp Nou, with
142 of his 253 netted at the Catalan club's famous
home.
203 - Messi is the only player to score 200 goals
for Barcelona at Camp Nou, having reached that
mark (in all competitions) with his strike against
Eibar last month. His hat-trick on Saturday means
he now has 203.
253 - The Argentine is now La Liga's all-time top
goalscorer, having surpassed Athletic Club great
Zarra (251) with his hat-trick in the match against
Sevilla on Saturday.
368 - The 27-year-old has scored 368 goals for
Barcelona in official matches and is well clear of
the Catalan club's previous top scorer, Cesar
Rodriguez. The former Spanish great hit 232
between 1942 and 1954. No player has scored so
many goals for a Spanish side, with the previous
best the 335 netted by Zarra for Athletic between
1940 and 1955. Raul is Madrid's top scorer with
323.