UEFA Lists 12 Incredible Records of Lionel Messi As He Clocks 34
- UEFA celebrates Lionel Messi on his 34th birthday after listing most of the feats he has achieved in his career
- The six-time Ballon d'Or winner is the second player with the most Champions League goals in the history of the competition
- Messi has also racked up most La Liga appearances by foreign players while he keeps the record of most goals in the competition
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Barcelona legend Lionel Messi is closer to retirement now than he was when he kicked off his professional football career as he clocks 34 today, June 24.
However, to celebrate the Argentine superstar, UEFA took time out to highlight the forward's achievement since he kicked off his professional career in 2004.
In spite of his failure to lead his South American country to glory so far in his career, the attacker has won virtually everything there's to football with his Spanish League outfit.
Source: Getty Images
Messi made his competitive debut for Barca in their La Liga meeting against Espanyol in October 2004 - becoming the youngest player to represent the club in an official competition back then.
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The 34-year-old is the seventh player with the most league appearances in Spain, having featured 520 times in the league. Also, he is the foreign player with the most games in La Liga.
He has the highest number of goals in the Spanish topflight as well as the most goals in a single season. He scored 50 goals at the end of the 2011-12 campaign.
Below are the lists of Lionel Messi's achievement in his 17-year career span so far
Club
- Most UEFA Champions League group stage goals: 71
- Most UEFA Champions League round of 16 goals: 28
- Most Ballon d'Or awards: 6
- Most Liga goals: 474
- Most Liga goals in a single season: 50 (2011/12)
- Most goals in a calendar year: 79 (2012 – or 91 including goals for Argentina)
- Most Liga hat-tricks: 36
- Most Liga titles won by a foreign player: 10
- Most ESM Golden Shoes: 6
- Most club honours: 35
Messi is also second behind Cristiano Ronaldo in the list of both top UEFA club competition scorers (he has 123, Ronaldo 137) and top UEFA Champions League/European Cup scorers (120 compared with Ronaldo's 134).
National team
- Most Argentina goals: 73
- Youngest Argentinian to score at a World Cup: 18 years 357 days
Some unpopular facts about Lionel Messi who turns 34 on June 24
Legit.ng earlier reported that Argentine star Lionel Messi who is one of the greatest footballers of all time clocks 34 on June 24 having been born in Rosario area of Argentina in 1987.
News18 are reporting that the Barcelona captain hails from a very humble background and was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency at the age of 11.
It was gathered that his parents could not afford the $900 monthly cost to treat the disorder, but it was until he joined Barcelona that they paid that bill.
Source: Legit.ng
