Argentine superstar Lionel Messi is considered one of the greatest players of all time, belonging to the group of big names who once dominated world football such as Pele and Diego Maradona. With outstanding talent and impressive achievements, Messi is not only a symbol of modern football but also a model of effort and dedication throughout nearly two decades of his career. He has broken a series of records, making his name in the history of international football. But the question is: How many Guinness World Records does Messi have? Let's find out the details of these records with Win Tips in the article below.
How many Guinness World Records does Messi have?
The 34-year-old has had an impressive career, with many prestigious titles. With Barcelona, Messi has won nine La Liga titles, four UEFA Champions League titles, and three FIFA Club World Cup titles. He has also had great success with Paris Saint Germain (PSG), with one Ligue 1 title and one Trophee des Champions title. In addition to his success at club level, Messi has also helped the Argentina national team win the Copa America and Finalissima, important achievements in his international career.
In addition to collective titles, Messi has also achieved outstanding individual achievements. He is the owner of seven Golden Balls, the prestigious award for the best player in the world each year, a record that no one can match. In addition, Messi also owns six European Golden Shoes, an achievement honoring the player who scores the most goals in European national championships in a season. These achievements have confirmed Messi as one of the greatest players in the history of world football.
Notable Guinness World Records held by Lionel Messi
Most goals in a calendar year
Lionel Messi holds the record for most goals in a calendar year when he scored 91 goals in a calendar year in 2012. The previous record was held by Gerd Muller, who scored 85 goals in 1972. Messi broke his record in December after scoring twice against Real Betis in La Liga.
Messi was at the peak of his goalscoring powers in 2012, scoring and beating everyone. He was unstoppable in front of goal and also had plenty of assists. In fact, Messi ended the year with more goals than clubs like Manchester United, Paris Saint Germain and Juventus.
Although the Zambia Football Association has challenged Messi's record for most goals in a calendar year, they instead claim that Godfrey Chitalu scored 109 goals in 1972, making him "the only player in the history of football to score more than 100 goals at the highest level in a single year".
However, these claims remain unproven as FIFA cannot verify the legitimacy of those goals and matches, and the Guinness record currently belongs to Messi.
Most ballons d'Or and European Golden shoes for a single player
Lionel Messi is by most accounts the greatest footballer to have ever lived. He holds the record for most Ballon d'Or awards after winning his seventh crown in 2021. The Ballon d'Or is awarded by France Football (formerly affiliated with FIFA) to the best player in the world in a calendar year, and Messi is the biggest winner to date. He is also the first player to win four consecutive Ballon d'Or titles from 2009 to 2012.
Messi also holds the record for most European Golden Shoes in world football. The European Golden Shoe is awarded to the player who finishes a season in European football with the most goals. Messi is a legendary goalscorer and his Golden Shoe record shows the same, having won the award six times in his career.
For comparison, Cristiano Ronaldo, who has long been considered Messi's rival, has won five Ballon d'Ors and four European Golden Shoes.
Most appearances and goals scored by a foreign player in La Liga
Lionel Messi holds the record for most appearances in La Liga by a foreign player, with 520 appearances for Barcelona from 16 October 2004 to 23 May 2021. The record for most appearances belongs to Andoni Zubizarreta.
Messi is also the top scorer in La Liga history, with 474 goals and an impressive goals-per-game ratio of 0.91. He has been La Liga's top scorer for eight seasons, a league record. His hat-trick against Sevilla on 22 November 2014 saw Messi break Telmo Zarra's record of 251 goals.
Messi also holds the record for most goals scored in a La Liga season with 50 in 2011/12. He also scored 26 goals in El Clasico matches against Real Madrid, a record for the competition.
Most goals in a single UEFA Champions League match
Lionel Messi set an incredible world record when he scored five goals in a single match against Bayer Leverkusen in the 2012 Champions League. He scored five goals in the second leg of the tournament held at the Camp Nou, which still stands as a world record in Europe's most prestigious tournament.
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Youngest player to score 50 goals in the Champions League
Messi is the youngest player to reach 50 goals in the UEFA Champions League. On 3 April 2012, in the quarter-final against AC Milan at the Camp Nou, he scored a brace to help Barcelona win 3–1. At the time, Messi was just 24 years, 9 months and 10 days old, setting a record as the youngest player in the history of the competition to reach 50 goals. This brace included a penalty in the 11th minute and another in the 41st minute, taking his tally to 14 goals in that Champions League campaign, surpassing Jose Altafini's record set in 1962/63.
Messi's record for most goals in a single Champions League season has been broken several times by Cristiano Ronaldo, though. Messi is also the first player to reach 80 goals in the UEFA Champions League and is currently second on the competition's all-time scoring list, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo.
Most goals scored in football history for a single club
Lionel Messi is also the proud owner of the record for most goals scored for a single club in football history. He obviously set the record with Barcelona, playing for the national team from 2005 to 2021. Messi has scored an incredible and mind-blowing 672 goals for the Catalan giants and is comfortably the highest goalscorer in the history of the club and Spanish football.
The previous record was held by Brazilian legend Pele, who scored 643 goals for Santos during his football career.
Most powerful sports star
The Guinness Book of World Records also recognized Lionel Messi as the most powerful sports star in the world. With an estimated fortune of $130,000,000 million (£114,842,650.00) verified by Forbes as of 22 September 2022, Argentina's Messi is the most powerful sports star in the world.
In Conclusion
Through the above article, you have the answer for yourself about·how many Guinness World Records does Messi have? Lionel Messi is not only one of the greatest players of all time but also the owner of countless incredible records throughout his career. From breaking the La Liga scoring record to becoming the first player to score 91 goals in a calendar year, Messi has made an indelible mark in the history of world football. These achievements not only affirm his outstanding talent but also demonstrate his tireless dedication. With each record, Messi once again establishes his special place in the hearts of fans and in the list of football legends.
See more: Ronaldo Guinness World Record list: Impressive records of football superstar
