The intended moniker does not involve any actual living thing. However, GOAT stands for ‘Greatest of All Time.’ It matches Messi splendidly! Respectably, he is one of the all-time great achievers in Argentinian football history after Diego Maradona.
Messi also wears jersey number 10 while playing on the field. Number 10 in the football team’s position carries the role of attacking midfielder. Many said the number 10 position is amusing to play in and watch! After all, he rocks the football field using his left foot! Yeah, you read it right; it’s LEFT.
Picture: Sky Sports
Five top reasons why Messi is called the ‘GOAT’ in football
1) A legendary player for club and country
Messi’s first appearance was on 17 August 2005, when he was brought on in the 63rd minute against Hungary. Unfortunately, 2 minutes later, he was sent off the field for roughing Vilmos Vanczák, a Hungarian player. At that time, the Argentine player was only 18 years old. Following the incident, he played 150 times for the national team, making him Argentina’s most-capped player. Lionel Messi managed to surpass Javier Mascherano, who appeared 147 times throughout his career. In 2011, he held the captain’s armband and led the Argentine team to win the Copa America in 2021.
2) Most La Liga hat-trick scorers and top scorers per season
During the 2011/12 season, Messi scored the most goals in one league season with 50. Meanwhile, his Portuguese counterpart only scored 46 goals in the same season. In the 2014/15 season, Ronaldo almost broke Messi’s record for most goals but fell short by two goals. So as you know, Messi scored the most goals in 2012 with 91 goals when he played for his country and club.
3) Assist the most in La Liga
In addition to being famous for scoring the most goals, Messi also holds the title of most assists in his football career, which is 216. His former teammate, Xavi Hernandez, who is also the recent coach of FC Barcelona, is in second place with 129 assists.
4) The only player to win four prestigious awards in one season
Messi is the only one (so far) to win the FIFA World Player, Pichichi Trophy, and Golden Boot, all in the 2009/10 campaign. All that happened when he was only 22 years old. In addition, Messi also holds the record for the most Ballon d’Or winners, which is 7 wins over Ronaldo by 240 points. He won the Ballon d’Or for 3 consecutive years.
5) La Liga’s top scorer of all time
Messi started scoring the most goals in La Liga when he first appeared for the ‘Blaugrana’ in 2004. A total of 474 goals were produced during his 520 appearances while playing with FC Barcelona. Messi recorded the most goals at home (277) and away (197) by facing 38 different opponents throughout the history of La Liga. Meanwhile, Ronaldo is in second place with 311 goals even though he only appeared with his club, Real Madrid, 292 times.
All-time personal achievement of ‘GOAT’ player, Lionel Messi
1) 7 FIFA Ballon d’Or (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021)
2) 6 European Golden Shoes (2009/10, 2011/12, 2012/13, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19)
3) 34 club trophies (with FC Barcelona)
4) 10 La Liga titles
5) set a record of 50 goals in one La Liga’s season
6) 7 Copas del Rey (2008/09, 2011/12, 2014/15 · 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2020/21)
7) Set a record of 474 La Liga goals
8) 216 assists in La Liga
9) Total of 672 career goals
10) Argentina’s all-time leading goalscorer
Sources: DeccanHerald, Your Soccer Home, Goal, Augustman, messi.com
