Winning the Ballon d’Or has become a scoring another goal for Lionel Messi. Argentine superstar has won two Ballon d’Or out of the last three seasons. He also holds the world record for winning four consecutive Ballon d’Or from 2009 to 2012. On Monday, the 36-year-old won the eighth Ballon d’Or of his career. With this win, he led ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo with three Ballon d’Or trophies.
Lionel Messi guided his nation to the glory of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He played the most vital role in the whole World Cup journey for his national team. After lifting the World Cup trophy he left European football, ending his 20-year playing career in Europe to join Major League Soccer (MLS) club Inter Miami in July of 2023.
As the Argentine superstar continues to shine even brighter than before, Here’s a look at the list of honors and records that Messi has created over the years. Some of the records are next to impossible to break.
Winner of most Ballon d’Or trophies
The announcement of Lionel Messi winning the 2023 Ballon d’Or is no surprise in the sports world and among his fans as well. His crucial contribution in helping Argentina lift the 2022 World Cup trophy has assured him winning the eighth Ballon d’Or.
However, Man City striker Erling Haaland was close to Messi after having a stunning season with Treble winner under Pep Guardiola’s supervision. The longest-time rival of Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo has won five and is the second highest after him.
The Ballon d’Or rivalries and dominance between Messi and Ronaldo can be easily seen from the fact that from 2008 to 2017, it was either an Argentine superstar or a Portuguese star who lifted the Ballon d’Or. In 2018, they eventually lost to Croatian captain Luka Modric.
In the future, there could be players like Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe, and Haaland for the Ballon d’Or but it will take time before anyone gets near the former Barca legend.
Most goals in a single La Liga season
The magician Messi has played longest time in La Liga and he holds some of the most impressive records in the league as well. Most goals in a single La Liga season is one among them.
In the 2011-12 season, Messi scored 50 goals in 37 appearances for Barcelona. It’s not only recorded in La Liga, but this is the most goal by any player among the top five leagues of Europe.
It’s next to impossible to say when this milestone of Messi will be broken, but who knows what and when the future holds.
Most goals in all competitions in a single season
This is something that surely seems impossible to break. In the 2011-12 season, Messi was fully on fire and scored 73 goals for Barcelona and no one even got close to it.
Last season, new Europen sensation Halaand broke many records and scored every week, but he managed to score only 52 goals in the whole season.
There is no one soon getting to this matchless record of Lionel Messi.
Most Champions League goals for one club
Messi is sorting a bit when comes to Champion League records. He is the second top scorer in the Champions League after Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored 140 goals. The fact is both of them have said goodbye to the Champion League.
The Braca legend scored 120 goals for Barcelona which made him the most Champions League goals for a single club. However, Ronaldo is the second with104 goals for Real Madrid followed by Karim Benzema who scored 78 goals for Madrid and secured third place.
Most goals for Argentina
Lionel Messi is the top scorer of all time for his country Argentina. He debuted with the national team in 2005 and up to now in 2023 he has scored 106 goals for Argentina. Earlier, this record was held by former Argentine striker Gabriel Batistuts who scored 58 goals for his nation.
The former Man City and Argentina striker Sergio Aguero ranked third with 43 goals for his nation. Aguero was the part of Argentina team that reached the final of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
The thing is both of Messi’s rivalries have retired from international football and he is still adding goals to his tally. So, it would be right to say, it will take a long long time before anyone even comes near to Messi.
Individual awards
Along with phenomenal records at club and national clubs, Messi is also matchless when it comes to individual awards and achievements. Listing his unbreakable records:
- Ballon d’Or: 8
- FIFA World Player of the Year: 7
- La Liga Player of the Year: 9
- European Golden Shoe: 6
- Laureus World Sports Award: 2
- World Cup Golden Ball: 2
- UEFA Men’s Player of the Year: 2
- Copa America Most Valuable Player: 2
International records
As we see above Messi is the top goal scorer for his nation Argentina and also played a prime role in guiding his national team to the World Cup glory.
Here, are list of his records and achievements at the international level and no one is even close to it.
- FIFA World Cup 2022
- Olympic gold at Beijing 2008
- All-time leading goalscorer: 106
- Most international caps: 178
- Most goals for a South American nation: 106
- Youngest Argentinian to score at a World Cup: 18 years 357 days
- The first player to score in four different World Cup tournaments for Argentina
- Most individual World Cup appearances: 26
- Most Argentina World Cup goals: 13
- The only player to score in the World Cup group stage, round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals and final
So, we can conclude that the Argentine superstar is a magician and a phenomenal player. He achieved and still achieving milestones both at the national and club levels.
Some of his records are still untouchable for more than a decade. So, we can Messi is the epitome of consistency, discipline, and focus.
FAQ
How many Ballon d’Or trophies Messi has?
Lionel Messi of Argentina has won a total of 8 Ballon d’Or trophies. His latest trophy came in 2023, after winning the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar.
How many FIFA Player of the year awards Messi has?
Lionel Messi has won a total of 7 FIFA Player of the year awards.
