Messi, who holds the record for most number of Ballon d'Or, with 7 wins, is also the only footballer to win the FIFA World Player, Pichichi Trophy and Golden Boot, all during his 2009/10 campaign, when the then 22-year-old won his first Ballon D'or, beating Ronaldo by over 240 points.

His rival Cristiano Ronaldo takes the second spot, with a total of 311 goals, though the Portuguese international had only appeared for his club Real Madrid 292 times.Ģ) Only player to win four prestigious awards in a single season: He has netted against 38 different opponents in La Liga history. Lionel Messi also holds the record for most home goals (277) and away goals (197) in La Liga history. The Argentine has scored for Barcelona a total of 474 goals in 520 appearances. Messi made his debut for the 'Blaugrana' back in 2004 and he has since gone on to become the all-time top scorer of La Liga, the Spanish domestic league football. Here are 5 reasons why Leo is considered the GOAT (greatest of all time) of football: Right from the moment the 17-year-old wunderkind made his senior debut for FC Barcelona back in 2004, the left-footed magician from Argentina has racked up several accolades as well as broken numerous records, which may be hard for future generations to breach. Lionel Messi's name is synonymous with football.

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