Published By: Rohit Chatterjee

Top Guinness World Records Held by Lionel Messi

The star man from Argentina has not only created records in the world of football but also racked up a few Guinness World Records

The heroics of Lionel Messi are known to everybody and therefore, writing about the records created by him in the world of football is not required. However, over the years, some of his actions in the football world helped him earn a few Guinness World Records. For those who are not aware of the records held by Lionel Messi, here is a list of the top Guinness World Records enjoyed by the Atomic Flea. 

91 goals- 2012 was the year of Lionel Messi because, in that year, the man scored more goals than several other clubs. Earlier, the record for scoring the maximum number of goals in a calendar year was held by Germany’s Gerd Müller. In 1972, Müller scored 85 goals; a record shattered by Lionel Messi in 2012 who scored 91 goals that year. To date, the record created by Lionel Messi has not been touched by any other player. 

Most goals in a Champions League match- Lionel Messi may not be the top scorer of the UEFA Champions League, a record which is held by rival Cristiano Ronaldo. However, in 2012, he did something unusual because of which he earned his second Guinness World Records. In a Champions League match against Bayer Leverkusen, Lionel Messi netted five goals; a record that has not been broken since 2012. However, it was equalled by Luiz Adriano in 2014. 

On the cover- Players such as Kaka, Ronaldinho, Cristiano Ronaldo and more have allfeatured on the cover of FIFA and PES games. However, no player has featured on the cover of these games as many times as Lionel Messi. Since 2009, Lionel Messi has featured 10 times on the cover of these games. The only player close to Lionel Messi is former Brazilian magician Ronaldinho. 

Four Ballon d’Or in a row- Some players have won the Ballon d’Or twice in a row and thrice in a row. However, the only player to win four consecutive Ballon d’Or in the history of football is Lionel Messi. Lionel Messi won his first Ballon d’Or in 2009 when he was only 22. After winning his first, he added three more in 2010, 2011 and 2012. To date, he is the only player in football’s history to win six Ballon d’Or.