Lionel Messi at the age of 35 – Records, milestones and goalscoring achievements of stars PSG, Argentina
Lionel Messi will celebrate his birthday on Friday when he turns 35.
Messi is also entering the final 12 months of his contract with Paris Saint-Germain (although the club have the option of adding another year) in what could prove to be a pivotal period as he begins to descend into his career.
Of course, there is no particular reason to suggest that Messi is thinking of calling it quits at the highest level, but there is reason given his age and contract circumstances, likely 2022. -23 could be his last season at a major league. European Club.
So we thought we’d celebrate Barcelona and Argentina Legend’s big day by looking back at certain aspects of his incredible career so far: all he’s achieved, all he hasn’t achieved and even some major milestones that he will likely pass.
– What future for Messi in 2023?
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Messi at PSG in 2021-22
Messi moved to PSG on a free transfer in August 2021 after Barcelona’s €1.2 billion debt prevent them from recommending him a new five-year contract.
With Messi having represented only one club since the age of 13, the transfer has sent its way to auctions through football with many questioning whether a player of Messi’s colossal stature could be. Can he adapt to the new environment after so many years of playing football the way he did at the HIS club? .
While still far from form, Messi has struggled to match the astonishingly high output of his giants Barca, scoring the worst single-season scoring rate of his entire career. in his first campaign in Paris.
Messi scored 11 goals in 34 games across all competitions between 2021-22 and averaged 0.345 goals per 90 minutes at club level – the lowest on record and worst since 2007-08 when he reached scoring rate of 0.43 goals per 90 minutes (16 goals in 40 games) in an injury campaign that has devastated Barca.
It’s better news on the assists front, though, as Messi comes out with 15 in all competitions, although they all come in Ligue 1. This level roughly matches the average assist rate. his average (20 in all games) during his run. nine seasons before the club at Camp Nou.
Messi also managed to add a new piece of jewelry to his incredible trove of trophies by winning the Ligue 1 title in his first season – the 35th biggest club title of his career.
How Messi and Argentina are building towards the 2022 World Cup
The next big tournament in Messi’s sights is the 2022 World Cup in Qatar which Argentina qualified in good time, mathematically securing their spot at the tournament with a 0-0 draw against their opponents. Brazil back in November 2021.
Prior to the aforementioned CONMEBOL qualifying match against Brazil, Argentina had not lost a single match in their 26 opening matches (a perfect streak more than two years ago) and since that match, they have remained unbeaten for another six games to date. year 2022.
Overall, Messi and his teammates are on a 33-match unbeaten streak, following their last loss in July 2019 when they were knocked out of the Copa America semi-finals through a 0-2 defeat to eventual champions Brazil. And, at the time, Argentina won the 2021 Copa America – their first major international title in 28 years – by beating hosts Brazil 1-0 in the final.
On a personal level, Messi has maintained an extremely high level of output for his country and, while his numbers may have dropped for PSG, the striker’s productivity in international football has improved since 2021. Indeed, he gave the better stats over 90 minutes for Argentina right across the board.
Messi has won two important titles for his country (Copa America 2021, Finalissima 2022) in just 1,769 minutes of play, compared to one title (Ligue 1 champion 2021-22) in the 5,489 minutes he played on. pitch for PSG last season.
Messi also outscores himself in goals scored in 90 minutes (0.76 for Argentina; 0.64 for PSG), shot effort (4.6 vs 4.5), one-on-one dribble effort one (8.0 vs. 6.1), chances to create (2.49 vs. 2.36), and even recoveries (3.1 vs. 2.1) and tackles (0, 71 vs 0.49).
The difference can of course be explained by the different tactics employed by his teams at club and international level, but nevertheless the numbers seem to suggest that Messi enjoys possession more. more efficient and effective at shooting, dribbling, creating chances and working the ball while playing for Argentina.
Productivity after 35
With most professional footballers retiring in their 30s, it’s understandable that productivity usually begins to dwindle around that time. Now, we know well that Messi is not “the best player”, but still there are only a handful of players since 2010-11 who have totaled 20 or more goals in a following season. their 35th birthday.
During that time, a select group of just six veterans achieved the feat in Europe’s Big Five, with the majority of them doing so in Italy’s Serie A.
Three players have hit 20 goal contributions in a single season on two occasions after turning 35: Luca Toni (2013-14, 2014-15), Antonio Di Natale (2021-13, 2014-15) and Messi’s arch rival Cristiano Ronaldo – first by gathering 32 goal contributions for Juventus in 2020-21 and then the following season when he contributed a total of 21 goals for Manchester United.
Other players to manage it are Fabio Quagliarella (34 contributions to Sampdoria in 2018-19), Francesco Totti (24 for Roma 2012-13) and Burak Yilmaz (21 for Lille in 2020-21.)
The records he still holds
Messi’s place in football history is assured, he has won 38 noble titles since he made his Barcelona debut in October 2004.
Only one player has won more senior competitive titles in that time, and he happens to be playing alongside Messi for most of that time: the Brazilian right-back. Dani Alves is leading the way with the top 40 titles.
For Messi, the only trophy (so far) has been won is the FIFA World Cup, which he came very close to winning with Argentina in 2014 only to lose. Germany in the final. Most likely Qatar 2022 is his last chance to correct that particular mistake.
Regarding the personal record, Messi continues to hold a series of matches that are difficult to be surpassed.
These include (but are certainly not limited to):
– Most official goals for one club: 672, for Barcelona
– Most assists for a club: 268, for Barcelona
– Most goals in a club season: 73, for Barcelona in the 2011-12 season
Only player to score 40 or more goals in 12 consecutive seasons and more than 30 goals in 13 consecutive seasons
– Most goals (27), assists (14) and appearances (45) in classic derby with Real Madrid.
– Guinness World Record for the most goals scored for club and country in a calendar year (91 goals in official matches in 2012)
And believe us, that’s really just the tip of a truly epic iceberg.
half past one
Shaka Hislop explains why he fully agrees with Messi’s return to Barcelona when his PSG contract expires.
Records / milestones that Messi can still achieve
Both Messi and Ronaldo are about to join the grotesquely exclusive 500 League Goals club, according to records kept by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS).
Starting from the 2022-23 season, Messi has scored 480 goals for the club, 17 goals behind Ronaldo. 37 years old Portugal The international, with 497 goals, was ready in the round of a hat trick when joined by Ferenc Puskas (514 goals), Josef Bican (518), Romario (544) and Pellet (604) of the biggest scorers.
In all competitions, Messi has 787 goals and is only 13 goals behind Ronaldo (821) when becoming the only player in history to score 800 or more goals in official matches.
At international level, Messi still has some way to go to catch up with his rivals, having scored 86 goals for Argentina compared to 117 goals for Ronaldo for Portugal – the current world record in men’s football. Ali Daei of Iran (109) is the only other male tennis player to reach the 100 mark.
Lionel Messi turns 35 today.
The Man Born To Win the Ballon d’Ors pic.twitter.com/UeYnWRCnr1
– ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) June 24, 2022
When it comes to the Ballon d’Or, Messi is the second oldest player to ever win this award in 2021 (34 years, 158 days) and tops the all-time table with seven honors. Ronaldo is his closest opponent (5) on that front in the same way he chases Messi in the all-time list to win the European Golden Shoe (6 vs 4)
With Ronaldo two years older than Messi, it is unlikely that the former player will be able to close the gap before the start of his career. That said, Sir Stanley Matthews was 41 years and 320 days old when he won his first Ballon d’Or in 1956, so maybe there’s still time!
