Lionel Messi’s Record-Breaking Journey to Football Greatness
When you leaf through the annals of football history, there is a phalanx of legendary players who stand out. Pele, Diego Maradona, Johan Cruyff and Ferenc Puskas are just a few names that invoke special memories.
However, you can’t curate such a list without including Lionel Messi. The mesmerising Argentine has been a footballing figurehead, and his ongoing rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo has only continued to ignite the GOAT debate.
While Messi appears to be in the autumn of his career as he is currently plying his trade with MLS outfit Inter Miami, he invariably attracts short odds from some of the best sportsbooks in the UK who plug prices for the goalscorer markets.
So, let’s trace Messi’s career and give some insights that help explain why he is the player he is today.
Living it up at La Masia
Having been plucked off the streets in Argentina, Messi signed for Barcelona’s youth academy, La Masia, which translates in Catalan as ‘Farmhouse’. Aside from being a shy and unassuming child when he arrived in 2000 aged 13, one of the things you may not know about Messi, is that he suffered from growth hormone deficiency, and Barca footed the bill for his treatment which was around £1,000 per month.
Messi was fast-tracked into the Barca first team at the tender age of 16 in 2003 against Porto, and it was under the tutelage of Pep Guardiola that the talismanic forward became a world-beater.
Aside from lifting the La Liga title on 10 occasions, it was in the Champions League where Messi made his mark, capturing four crowns, and he notched up 129 goals in total, which is only bettered by Ronaldo (141). But Messi holds numerous other records in Europe’s elite competition, including most Champions League goals for one club (120) and most Champions League goals netted in the Round of 16 (29).
However, on a personal level, Messi has been named Europe’s top scorer on six occasions, and he has clinched the Ballon d’Or award seven times, another astonishing record he can add to his bulging list of achievements in the game.
World Cup mission achieved
For all the honours that Messi has amassed at club level, it seemed for a long time that he would see international success elude him. Well, bar getting his hands on the Copa America, many thought that his chance to hoist the World Cup would pass Messi by.
Nevertheless, a lifelong ambition was realised in Qatar in 2022. Argentina reached the Final and required extra-time as well penalties to dispose of France. Messi made a meaty contribution, weighing in with two goals, and notching up seven overall for the tournament, but he was pipped to the Golden Boot accolade by Kylian Mbappe (eight).
Messi carried the nation’s expectations on his shoulders for many years, and getting his hands on the World Cup made all the previous setbacks he suffered all the more worth it.
Glittering legacy
The most loyal Messi supporters won’t begrudge him for extending his playing career by a few more years in the MLS. Even at the grand old age of 36, Messi continues to produce breathtaking displays, and it remains to be seen whether he will turn out for Argentina at another World Cup.
He is a bastion of greatness, and it would be an understatement to suggest he has inspired future generations. Messi is a metronomic footballer, who has well and truly cemented his legacy, and we will continue to talk about him long after he hangs up his boots!
