Some of the reasons why Lionel Messi might be the best player ever
Lionel Messi needs no introduction. He is universally recognized as one of the best footballers in the world. Messi is also one of the best scorers in the history of football and has several other records. He is also well known for his great fast dribbling skills and amazing elusive tricks with the ball. There are several reasons why he is considered the best player of all time and here are some of the many records he is the holder of.
All of Messis titles
Lionel Messi has a staggering 34 won titles in total through the years, among these he has 10 La Liga titles, 4 Champions League titles and 6 Copa del Rey titles. This has given him the number one place in the history of his club FC Barcelona.
Top scorer in La Liga
The top goalscorer in La Liga every year wins the Pichichi Trophy and Messi have won this title 7 times. No one in the history of La Liga have won as many Pichichi Trophy's as Lionel Messi.
European Golden Boot Awards
It is not only the Pichichi Trophy that Messi has won of course. He has also received the European Golden Boot Awards for being the top scorer in Europe 6 times, more than anyone else.
More than 600 goals for Barca
Barcelona is one of the most successful clubs in the history of football and have had many of the best and greatest players playing the club. However, Messi is by far the player who have scored most goals among all the superstars that have passed through the club over the years. Messi have scored more than 600 official competition goals (so excluding friendly games). The second best scorer in Barca ever is Paulino Alcántara with 369 goals, and no other players have even scored more than 200 goals.
UEFA Champions League top scorer
Messi have of course scored quite a few goals in Champions League as well. Actually, he have been the top scorer in Champions League 6 times and have scored 115 goals in the competition in total up to and with the season of 2019/2020.
More than 50 goals six seasons
In six different seasons, between seasons 2004/2005 and 2019/2020, Messi have scored more than 50 official competition goals. His record season was 2011/2012 when he scored 73 goals, where 50 goals was in league games and 14 goals in Champions League.
The winner of six Ballon d'Or
Ballon d'Or (or Golden Ball English) is perhaps the most prestigious football award around and has been handed out every year since 1956. Lionel Messi have won this price six times, more than any other player ever.
More than 400 goals in La Liga
No player has scored more goals in the Spanish La Liga than Messi. Up to and with the season of 2019/2020 he had scored 444 goals in 16 memorable La Liga seasons. The score ratio in his La Liga career is 0.91 goals per match.
So is the the GOAT?
Lionel Messi is perhaps the best and most successful player ever in club level in the world and continues to hypnotize his fans with his fantastic skills and goals. So, is he the best player in the history of football? Many would probably say yes but most likely even more would still hold players like Pelé and Diego Maradona one step above Messi, with the main argument that Messi has never been able to bring his national team Argentina to any titles. If he would succeed to do that before he ends his career, he might just become the greatest football player in the history (popular abbreviated GOAT) in many people's eyes.
Author: Peter Norman
Created: 7 October 2020
Last updated: 9 August 2024
Peter Norman is from the green island of Ireland, loves football and Manchester United in particular, where also the great idol Roy Keane had his career. Peter is a trained journalist and likes to write articles and analyses of football.