On April 24, Beijing time, Paris Saint-Germain won this season's Ligue 1 title, Messi finally won the first championship since joining Greater Paris, and it is also the 39th title of his career, but these 39 titles are still some doubts and controversies.
Controversy 1: 39 crowns or 38 crowns?
Let's first take a look at what are Messi's 39 crowns that are widely reported by the media?
4 Champions League, 10 La Liga crowns, 7 Kings Cup, 8 Super League, 3 European Super Cup, 3 Club World Cup, 1 Ligue 1 crown, Copa America 1 crown, 2005 World Youth Championship champion, 2008 Olympic gold medal.
But there is also a statistic that Messi is 38 crowns, where is the difference? 7 crowns in the Western Super Cup. Why? Because of the 2005 Western Super League, Messi was not included in Barca's list, and given that the two-legged match is different from the league, it is understandable that it is only 7 instead of 8.
Controversy 2: 39 crowns or 37 crowns?
Some media also believe that the total number of championships in Messi's career is 37 crowns, what is the difference? World Youth Champion and Olympic Gold Medal.
Both of these competitions are youth tournaments, and traditionally they are largely excluded from the achievements of a professional player.
There are too many players who have won the Olympic men's gold medal, except For Messi, who do we remember? Aguero and Di Maria were both Olympic champions in 2008 and Tevez in 2004, so do we specifically mention this when we evaluate their careers?
As for the World Youth Championships, the weight is even lighter, and Messi was only 18 years old in 2005. Just like Benzema once won the 2004 European Youth Championship and was hailed as one of the "87 Four Little Swans", but who would count it in the total number of champions of the Real Madrid center forward?
In the end, it counts as 39 crowns, after all, because he is Messi.
Controversy 3: 39 crowns, in the end is the first in history?
If you count by the 39 crowns, the media generally believes that Messi can rank second in history in the number of championships, tied with Iniesta, second only to Alves with 46 crowns.
But this is not rigorous, just a statistic of the well-known players of European and South American football in modern football In fact, in front of Messi, in addition to Alves, there are 3 players.
Gibraltar's Lee Cassiaro, 40 years old, has won a total of 43 titles. Egypt's Hawthorne Hassan, who is 55 years old this year, has 41 titles. Northern Ireland's Sir Noel Bailey, also 41 crowns. Messi and Iniesta and other 3 players, tied for fifth in history.
First in history? Messi is only one World Cup away!
Of course, in terms of championship gold content, Messi is already one of the best in history, after all, the 39 crowns include 10 La Liga, 1 Ligue 1, 4 Champions Leagues and 1 Copa America.
But if you want to surpass Alves and become the first in history, messi really has to do, or win the World Cup! That is the highest honor in world football, and it is also missing from the second master, will it become the 40th or 41st crown of the Mei Ball King (there will be a French Super Cup before the start of next season)?
Of course, there is also the Champions League champion, if Messi can win another championship, he will equal Cristiano Ronaldo and become the player who has won the most titles since the Restructuring of the Champions League.