Sports & Fitness

Introducing the greatness of Lionel Messi, by the numbers

Here’s a breakdown of the Argentine football superstar’s record-breaking 17-year career at Barcelona in key digits

Updated 5 years ago · Published on 10 Aug 2021 9:37PM

Introducing the greatness of Lionel Messi, by the numbers
Not even the great Pele can hold a candle to the number of goals scored by Lionel Messi – seen here with Colombia's Wilmar Barrios (bottom) at the Conmebol 2021 Copa America – during his 17-year run at Barcelona, trumping the Brazilian legend by 28 more goals than what the football great scored with Santos between 1956 and 1974 – pix courtesy of AFP, August 10, 2021

AS Paris Saint-Germain prepares to welcome Lionel Messi after a record-breaking spell at Barcelona, AFP looks at some of the key numbers in the Argentine's club career.

6:           The number of Ballons d'Or, football's most prestigious individual award, won by Messi since the start of his career (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019), one more than his perennial rival, Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo. 

35:         The number of trophies Messi won in a Barcelona shirt. In detail, he has won four Champions Leagues, 10 Spanish championships, seven Copas del Rey, three European Super Cups, eight Spanish Super Cups and three Club World Cups. 

50:         The number of goals scored by Messi in La Liga in the 38 matches of the 2011-2012 season, a record. That season he scored a total of 73 (another record). 

74.9:      Messi's net salary in millions of euros at Barcelona per season, according to Spanish daily El Mundo. In Paris, his salary would be around 40m euros, (RM232.3m) according to the French press, which would put him in the same category as Neymar (RM178.3m), until now the highest-paid player in the history of Ligue 1. 

474:       The number of goals scored by the 'Pulga' (flea) in La Liga in 520 games played with Barcelona (0.91 goals per game), the most in La Liga history ahead of Ronaldo (451). 

542:       The number of victories by Barca in Messi's 778 appearances (another record) 

6:           The number of four-goal games for Barcelona. He also scored 41 hattricks and had one five-goal game.

14:         The most goals scored in one season in the Champions League (2011/2012). A record that Ronaldo broke two years later when he hit 17.  

21:         The number of consecutive games in which Messi found the net in La Liga in the 2012/2013 season.  

26:         The number of goals scored against arch-rivals Real Madrid.  

28:         The minute of his last goal in a Barca shirt, against Celta Vigo on May 16, a home loss that ended the club's hopes of the title. 

245 million:        The number of followers the Argentine star has on Instagram. It is one of the biggest accounts on the social network, much more than the number who followed PSG (38.6 million) before news of Messi's arrival boosted their social media numbers. 

671:       The number of goals scored for Barcelona in all competitions. That's 28 more than Pele scored with Santos between 1956 and 1974. – AFP, August 10, 2021

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