Lionel Messi, who is widely known as the GOAT of football, has had an outstanding career. Messi was born on 24 June 1987, and today marks his 38 birthday. 

Lionel Messi began his football journey at Newell’s Old Boys in Argentina before moving to Barcelona’s youth academy at the age of 13. He quickly rose through the ranks, making his first-team debut at 16. His breakthrough moment came in the 2004-05 season when he helped Barcelona win La Liga and the UEFA Champions League. 

A Career To Remember

Over the years, Lionel Messi has become synonymous with football. He became Barcelona’s all-time leading scorer and set multiple records, such as most goals in La Liga history and most assists in official football history.

His 2011-12 career specifically was historic. He broke a 38-year-old record for most goals in a single European league season. Messi won six European Golden Shoes, a record still unmatched by any other player and earned eight Ballon d’Or awards, which is again unmatched. 

Lionel Messi has been the key player for Argentina. He won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2005, the Olympic gold medal in 2008, the Copa America in 2021 and 2024, and the FIFA World Cup in 2022.

Throughout his career, Messi has won an unmatched number of trophies, which is 45 collective titles, including 10 La Liga championships, 4 UEFA Champions League titles, multiple Copa del Rey wins, and domestic cups with Barcelona. 

After leaving Barcelona in 2021 due to financial constraints at the club, he continued his success with Paris Saint-Germain, winning Ligue 1 titles, and later with Inter Miami, securing the Leagues Cup and the MLS Supporters’ Shield.

Individually, Lionel Messi holds numerous records: most goals in La Liga, most hat-tricks (36), most FIFA FIFPRO World XI appearances (17), and the Guinness World Record for most official goals in a calendar year (91 in 2012). He has been recognised repeatedly as the best player globally with awards including three The Best FIFA Men’s Player honours and multiple Laureus World Sports Awards. As the world celebrates a legend’s birthday, let’s take a look at his career stats. 

Lionel Messi’s Career Stats

Club Football

For Argentina

Club Football Competitions

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Often revered as one of the most prominent and popular sports in the world, football enjoys a viewership of billions throughout the world. The action-packed games, thrilling rivalries and prominent players, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Pele, Lionel Messi and many others, have played a major role in elevating the stature of football as a highly competitive and professional sport at a global level. Additionally, with the inclusion of intensely competitive leagues and tournaments, including the FIFA World Cup, English Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, and the Bundesliga, the sport’s popularity has transcended to unprecedented heights in the past few decades. 

While the game of football is often acknowledged by the fans for its fuming rivalries and ever-growing competitive spirit, the game is also hailed as a pioneer in the sporting arena for its remarkable records. Although most football aficionados know about numerous stellar mainstream records smashed by their favorite stalwarts, there are numerous records that were established by legendary football players in the past and have still not been surpassed by any football player in the world. 

In this article, we will take a closer look at the top five insane records in the world of football that have never been surpassed and possess high chances of never being broken in the future.

• The Lightspeed Hat Trick 

While the illustrious past of football has witnessed numerous hat tricks being smashed by iconic footballers, the record for fastest hat trick has been established by Alex Torr while playing for Rawson Spring. Alex Torr, the then-twenty-year-old center forward, smashed a thrilling hat-trick at breakneck speed against Gardens in a mere seventy-second time span. Alex Torr’s stellar triple attack against Gadems not only uplifted the morale of his squad members but also assisted the Rawson Spring in clinching the match by a brilliant 7-1 margin. The incredible performance by Alex Torr, which made him strike three goals in a time span of 70 seconds, established him as a highly competitive and one of the most reliable forwards in the squad. 

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• The Highest Number of Red Cards 

Unfortunately, not all records established are commemorated in the world of records. Gerardo Bedoya holds one such record for obtaining the highest number of red cards in his playing career. Former Colombian footballer and current manager, Gerardo Alberto Bedoya Múnera, who played as a defender, was sent back from the field maximum times after receiving a red card for an unbelievable forty-six times. Often hailed as ‘the beast’ of the football field, he started off his youth football career with Envigado and represented senior clubs including Deportivo Pereira, Deportivo Cali, Racing Club, Boca Juniors, Colon, Puebla, Cúcuta Deportivo, Millonarios, and Santa Fe. Gerardo Bedoya received the highest number of red cards, i.e., 14 during his stint with Deportivo Cali (1998–2001, 2003).

• The Highest Number of Goals Scored by a Goalkeeper 

Although goalkeepers are generally restricted to the penalty area of their own team and don’t actively involve themselves in scoring goals for their team, a few goalkeepers in history have been trendsetters for scoring match-winning goals for their respective teams. The Brazilian goalkeeper, Rogerio Ceni, holds the record for smashing the highest number of goals in the world. In a flourishing football career spanning over 25 years, with a phenomenal total of 129 goals, Rogerio Ceni scored his 100th goal on August 4, 2011, assisting his Sao Paulo squad to a remarkable 3-0 victory. Moreover, Rogerio Ceni has also been acknowledged by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics for being the goalkeeper to have scored the highest number of goals in the history of the sport. 

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• The Highest Number of FIFA World Cup Appearances 

The FIFA World Cup, also simply called “the World Cup”, is often hailed as the greatest football league in the world. While numerous football players have garnered enormous fame with their record-breaking performances at the FIFA World Cup, Lionel Messi is also recognized as the G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time) for holding the record for the highest number of appearances. Representing the Argentina squad, the legendary footballer, Lionel Messi, has appeared in a total of 26 World Cup matches. Although footballers, including Lothar Matthäus and Miroslav Klose, are quite close to matching up Messi’s record for the highest number of appearances in the FIFA World Cup, no football player has been able to actually surpass Messi’s record till date. 

• The Highest Number of International Goals 

While goals in all sports are commemorated in the game of football by the fans with the same exuberance, international goals add another wave of excitement among the fans throughout the world. Cristiano Ronaldo, the stalwart of football, holds the record for scoring the highest number of international goals in his illustrious football career so far. Representing the Portugal squad, Ronaldo has scored a phenomenal total of 128 international goals, leading the Portugal side to numerous victories. While other iconic football players, including Sunil Chhetri, Lionel Messi, and Ali Daei, are often considered to be in the same race, not even one football player has been able to beat the legendary Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo at smashing the highest number of international goals so far.