Coming to Miami, what records has Messi left in Europe that are difficult to break?
In the early morning of June 8, Beijing time, the American Professional League team Miami International officially announced that Messi was about to join the team.
Messi also stated in the interview that he has indeed been invited by other European teams, but the only European club he wants to join is Barca. After missing Barca, Messi made the decision to go to Internacional Miami in the MLS.
The era of Messi is over, and the Argentine superstar has left a brilliant footprint in Europe. From that introverted and diminutive teenager to 7 Golden Globe winners, the glorious resume of a generation of football kings slowly unfolds in front of us, and also leaves an unattainable height for future generations.
[7 Golden Globes laughing history, "impossible" to break the record]
From 2009 to 2021, when he beat Lewandowski and Jorginho to win the crown again, Messi won the Ballon d'Or seven times in 12 years.
Accustomed to watching his performances on top stages, the Golden Globes seem to have become a natural "prize". But in reality, this is the pinnacle that most players will struggle to touch throughout their lives. For example, in the entire history of German football, the five superstars of Gade Müller, Rummenigge, Mateus, Beckenbauer and Summerer have won only 7 golden balls.
Today, Messi has won 7 golden balls, which is not only a great achievement in ancient times, but also single-handedly created the "Messi era".
We are not in a starry era - Messi won the first golden ball in 2009, behind him were Cristiano Ronaldo and Xavi; In 2010, Xavi and Andres Iniesta helped Spain win the European Championship, but both lost to Lionel Messi at the Ballon d'Or; In 2015, Messi defeated Cristiano Ronaldo and the rising Neymar; In 2019, the popular Van Dijk was seen as the favorite to win the golden ball again as a defender, but still fell in front of Messi; In 2021, Lewandowski and Jorginho have data and results, but they can only become runners in front of Messi.
This is an era of no shortage of superstars, and it is only in front of a dazzling star like Messi that it seems a little bleak. The 7 golden balls are the best recognition of a superstar, and symbolize the perfect fusion of South American and European football culture - Messi has both the self-discipline of European players and the spirit and gorgeousness of South American football.
Messi has done what he has never done before, and he is likely to do it again.
Today, there are only three active Ballon d'Or winners, namely Cristiano Ronaldo, who won the Ballon d'Or five-time, Modric, who won the Ballon d'Or in 2018, and Benzema, who won the Ballon d'Or in 2022.
Ronaldo is 38 years old and has left Saudi Arabia away from the center of football, and his last time he was in the top 3 of the Ballon d'Or was in 2019. Based on today's competitive state and the overall level of the Saudi league, it may be impossible for Ronaldo to attack the Golden Ball again.
Ronaldo is the only player who can theoretically match Messi's Ballon d'Or record, and the other two current Ballon d'Or gentlemen - Modric and Benzema, 38 and 36 years old respectively, and the latter has also moved to the Saudi league, and is less likely to rise to the next level in the Ballon d'Or competition.
Among the rising stars, although there are many superstar embryos such as Mbappe and Haaland, there is still a gap between the brilliance of the moment and the stable performance of more than ten years. If you want to touch the height of Messi, you not only need to contribute phenomenal performance in a certain season, but also maintain self-discipline for a long time, and stand at the top of the altar in personal data and team results for more than ten consecutive years, which is a difficult requirement.
[The annual 91 goals is a miracle, and it may be difficult for future generations to catch up]
It is no accident that Messi has been able to win seven golden balls, on the one hand, it comes from his excellent team results, on the other hand, we cannot ignore his extremely outstanding personal data. Until now, the Argentine superstar still holds a great record – he scored 91 goals in a single calendar year in 2012, breaking the record of 85 goals held by former German superstar Gerd Müller in a single year.
What's more valuable is that these 91 goals can be described as full of gold.
According to statistics, Messi played a total of 69 games in 2012, averaging 1.32 goals per game, including 47 goals, 22 goals, 6 hat-tricks, two senior hits, and one five-son Denko. Either statistic surpasses the vast majority of contemporaries.
Of the 79 goals scored for Barca, 59 were scored in La Liga, 13 in the Champions League, 5 in the Copa del Rey and two in the Spanish Super Cup. In addition, Messi is not a "home dragon, away worm" in the traditional sense, he has scored 45 goals at Camp Nou, and as many as 42 goals away from home, and the number of home and away goals is quite close.
What is the concept of this record? At the same time, many European giants (Manchester United, Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Paris) also did not reach 91 goals in 2012.
Regarding Messi's 12 goals in the national team, there have been rumors in recent years that they were mostly brushed from the "fish belly". But if you look closely, you can find that Messi's opponent with 12 goals is not only not a fish belly, but also a world-class team.
Of the 12 goals, three came from 3:1 against Switzerland, three from 4:3 against Brazil and two from 3-0 Uruguay, as well as against Chile, Germany, Switzerland, Ecuador and Paraguay.
Let's take a look at the world rankings of these teams at that time: Germany was ranked 3rd in the world, Brazil was ranked 5th in the world, Uruguay was ranked 7th in the world, Chile was ranked 17th in the world, Switzerland was ranked 18th in the world, Paraguay was ranked 29th in the world, and Ecuador was ranked 36th in the world. Among them, Germany, Brazil and Uruguay were all in the top 10 in the world at the time, and the lowest Ecuador was also ranked 36th in the world, and the so-called Messi scored from the fishbelly team, which is false.
After more than ten years, many fans have forgotten the shock of 91 goals in a single year. Let's take Haaland as an example and see how many goals he can score in 2023 if he can maintain his goalscoring efficiency this year?
Up to now, Haaland has scored a total of 25 goals in 2023, even if you ignore the second half of the offseason and calculate the same ratio, Haaland can only score a total of 50 goals in 2023, although it is an extremely luxurious data, but there is still a big gap from the 69 goals created by Ronaldo in 2013, not to mention Messi's 91 goals in a single year.
Taking 2022 as an example, the player who scored the most goals that year was Mbappe of Greater Paris, who scored a total of 56 goals in one year, which is still far from Messi's 91 goals.
91 goals in a single year is undoubtedly an unattainable peak for future generations, and achieving such an achievement requires not only super personal strength, but also the right time and place. Admittedly, Mbappe and Haaland are also goal-scoring machines, but they are still far from Messi's record.
【European club competition all-time goalscorer king + five major league all-time goalscorer king】
On April 9, local time, Paris Saint-Germain beat Nice 2-0 away, Messi opened the scoring in that game, and he also scored 702 goals for European clubs, officially surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo to become the first in football.
According to statistics, Ronaldo previously scored 701 goals in 949 games, and now Messi surpasses the Portuguese with 702 goals in 841 games to set a new record. It is worth mentioning that Messi has played 108 fewer games than Ronaldo to achieve this record, which also means that his goal efficiency is more prominent.
At the same time, Messi is also the holder of the all-time goal count in the five major leagues. In the 1-1 draw with Strasbourg in Paris, Messi scored a goal for the team, and he broke Ronaldo's previous record of 495 goals with a total of 496 goals in the five major leagues, becoming the first in history.
What's more valuable is that while scoring 704 goals, Messi also completed 303 assists, averaging 1 goal every 99 minutes and 1 goal every 70 minutes.
How difficult is this record? Let's compare the data of Mbappe and Haaland.
So far, Haaland has scored a total of 186 goals for European clubs, 518 goals short of Messi's 704 goals, and if Haaland can achieve this season's goal efficiency every season (Haaland has scored a total of 52 goals so far, which is also his highest scoring season), it will take him another 10 seasons to equalize Messi's record, when Haaland will be 32 years old.
Take Kylian Mbappe, for example, who has scored a total of 239 goals at European clubs so far, 465 goals short of Messi's record. The highest number of goals scored in a single season in Mbappe's career is 42 in the 20~21 season, and even if he can score 42 goals every season, it will take 11 seasons to equalize Messi's record, when the French star is 35 years old.
It can be found that even if we take the highest goalscoring efficiency of Mbappe and Haaland as a reference, they have been catching up with Messi for more than 10 years. It can be seen that such great achievements are not the result of outstanding performances in certain seasons, but require more than ten years of consistent performance. At least from this point of view, there are very few people in football who can catch up with Messi at the moment.
[Golden Boot Grand Slam, no one can match]
So far, Messi has won a total of 22 golden boots in his career, ranking first in football. Among them, he won the La Liga Golden Boot in the 09~10, 11~12, 12~13, 16~17, 17~18, 18~19, 19~20 and 20~21 seasons, and from the beginning of the 2016~17 season until he left Barca, Messi never let the La Liga Golden Boot fall aside. It is worth mentioning that Messi scored an astonishing 50 league goals in the 2011~12 season, a record that is also unbreakable.
In addition, Messi has won the European Golden Boot six times, which is also the first in history. His 6 seasons of winning the European Golden Boot are 09~10 (34 goals and 68 points in 35 games), 11~12 (50 goals and 100 points in 37 games), 12~13 (46 goals and 92 points in 32 games), 16~17 (37 goals and 74 points in 34 games), 17~18 (34 goals and 68 points in 36 games), and 18~19 (36 goals and 72 points in 34 games).
The European Golden Boot spanned 10 years in these 6 seasons, especially in the 11~12 season, Messi scored 50 league goals in a single season, becoming the first player to win the European Golden Boot with a triple-digit score. At the same time, Messi is also the only player to achieve 90+ points twice. You know, even the total number of European golden boots won by the two top goalscorers Cristiano Ronaldo and Lewandowski is only 6.
In addition, Messi has won 6 Champions League Golden Boots, 5 Copa del Rey Golden Boots, 1 Club World Cup Golden Boot, 1 U20 World Cup Golden Boot, and 1 America's Cup Golden Boot. The honor of 22 Golden Boots in his career may be difficult for future generations to achieve.
[Football history assist king, feeding cake master worthy of the name]
Messi is not only a goal-scoring machine, but also has an excellent big-picture view and threatening ball passing ability that surpasses most of his contemporaries. Up to now, he is still the all-time assist king in football, with a total of 350 assists in his career (different websites have different statistical standards, so the actual data may vary, but regardless of the website, Messi is the all-time assist king in football).
Messi is the only one with more than 300 career assists, followed by Suarez, who has provided 287 assists in his career, but is still nearly 70 times away from Messi. Looking at this list, only Muller and Neymar still have theoretical opportunities to catch up in their careers.
Mueller is 69 away from Messi's record for assists, but he is 33 years old. In contrast, Neymar is more likely, the Brazilian striker currently has a 74-assist gap from Messi, assuming he can assist 11 times per season (which is Neymar's average of assists in the last six seasons), and it will take nearly seven seasons to equalize that record (provided Messi does not record assists after that).
It is almost certain that Messi's assists will be difficult to surpass for a long time to come. What fans say that "Messi can score goals in and assist when he retreats", which is indeed true.
[73 goals in a single season, even the ancient gods are difficult to compare]
This season, Haaland, a newcomer to the Premier League, has silenced doubters with goal after goal. So far, the Norwegian centre-forward has scored 52 goals in 52 appearances for the Blue Moon, averaging one goal per game. Such a terrifying goal efficiency naturally attracts attention, and many fans are curious, what is Haaland's 52 goals in a single season, in the history of football?
In fact, 52 goals in a single season can't even be in the top 10 all-time.
Looking at the list of single-season goal history in football, it can be found that the vast majority of players are from the "ancient era": No. 8 McGrory scored 63 goals in 1927~28, Dean ranked 7th scored 63 goals in 1927~28, Bikan ranked 6th scored 63 goals in 1941~42, Zangler ranked 5th scored 65 goals in 1938~39, Sellers ranked 4th scored 66 goals in 1940~41, and Ferenc Dick ranked 3rd in 1945~ Gad Müller, who scored 66 goals in 46 seasons and finished 2nd, is relatively familiar to everyone, and he scored 66 goals in 1972~73.
In the face of the siege of a group of "ancient gods", in today's more organized defense and more diversified tactical concepts, it may become more and more difficult to surpass these characters.
But there are always exceptions to everything – and Messi is the exception.
In the 2011~12 season, the Argentine showed phenomenal goal efficiency, scoring an incredible 73 goals in 60 appearances for Barcelona, averaging 1.22 goals per game.
Of those 73 goals, Messi scored 50 goals in the league, breaking La Liga's single-season goal record; scored 14 goals in the Champions League; 3 goals in the Copa del Rey; scored two goals in the Club World Cup and three in the Spanish Super Cup; The UEFA Super Cup also scored 1 goal. Such statistics made Gerd Müller's 40-year record ancient, making Messi the top scorer in football's all-time season scorer.
It may be very difficult for latecomers to catch up with Messi's record.
First of all, players must have contributed at least one goal per game in a single season. In addition, the overall strength of the team must also be excellent, the vast majority of teams without multi-line combat tasks are difficult to exceed 50 games in a single season, if you want to have a chance to touch Messi's record in the number of goals, at least have more than 60 appearances in a single season, and always maintain such efficient goal efficiency.
【Conclusion】
Since the birth of modern football, after two hundred years of going around in circles, great stars like a river of stars have been born, and among them, Messi is a very shining one. From the short boy who was not favored to the great superstar who led the side and crossed the football scene, Messi conquered the world with his strength, and also made the latecomers have to look up to the towering peak in front of him.
It is almost impossible to describe all of Messi's records in one article, except for the previous ones, he is also the record holder for the most goals scored by a single club, the record holder for the most assists in a single club, the record holder for the most assists in a single season in the league, the record holder for the longest goal scored in the league, the record holder for the most goals produced in the final, the record holder for assists in the World Cup, the record holder for goals produced in the World Cup, the record holder for goals scored by the Spanish national derby, the record holder for direct free kicks from La Liga, Record holder for most dribbles in a single La Liga, record holder for most passes in a single Copa del Rey, record holder for the most goals scored in a single game in the Champions League...
He is also the only player to win the IFFHS World Organizer Award five times, the IFFHS World's Top Scorer Award five times, the only player to win the Top Scorer and Assist King in the same season, the only player to score in all 5 rounds of the World Cup (group stage, 1/8 final, 1/4 final, semi-final and final), only player to win more than one World Cup Golden Ball, only player to win the Golden Ball in three different decades (00s, 10s, 20s), the only footballer to win the Laureus World Sports Award...
Even if it is cursoryly described, even if it is only a rough list, the record set by Messi is still enough to amaze everyone. He is the successor of the young and famous king of football, and he is also an immortal legend who is determined to be thousands of miles away. He can win the golden ball at the age of 22 and lead the team to the World Cup at the age of 35, Messi's career is a record-setting career, and he has set one monument after another, not only a peak that is difficult for future generations to reach, but also a perfect example for all kickers.
There has never been a shortage of superstars in our era, but Messi's shine is too dazzling, making the superstars seem a little different.
No matter how bright the fireworks are, there is a moment to dissipate, and as Macy leaves Miami International, a gorgeous era may come to an end. He is not without the ability to continue playing in the big five leagues, but as Messi himself has said, he only wants to play for Barca if he wants to stay in Europe. Since you can't return to the Red and Blue Legion, you just leave the country.
Although Messi has left the mainstream stage, the records he left behind will always be remembered.
There is no need to question that he is the king of the ball.