Lionel Messi has been named FIFA’s The Best Men’s Player of 2022, after scoring his 700th club goal over the weekend. The Argentine has been in remarkable form this season, capping it off in the winter with the national team.
The 35-year-old finished as the player of the tournament in the 2022 World Cup, as Argentina finally won the trophy. He is one of the few players in Europe to have racked up double digits in goals and assists in the league, and shows no signs of slowing down now.
Here are five more crazy stats from Messi’s career that you need to know about.
5 stats from Lionel Messi’s career you must know about
1. Messi scored 700 goals in 103 less games than his constant comparison, Cristiano Ronaldo did.
Lionel Messi reached 700 club goals in 103 fewer games than Cristiano Ronaldo 👀 pic.twitter.com/9E08A8W42V
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) February 27, 2023
2. For 17 straight seasons, Lionel Messi has scored 10+ goals at the club level. Between 2008/09 and 2018/19, he scored over 40 goals at the club level for ten consecutive seasons.
3. The Argentine forward is only the second player in the history of football to have scored 700 club goals according to the IFFHS (International Federation of Football History and Statistics).
4. Alongside his 790 club goals, Messi has also provided 299 assists in his 840 professional games. As a result, he has averaged a goal contribution every 68.9 minutes – which is absolutely unbelievable considering his longevity.
5. Arguably the record which will never be broken – Lionel Messi scored 91 goals in the calendar year 2012, while winning the 2012 Ballon d’Or.
