Spanish Football 
/ Michael Lintorn / 08 March 2012 / Leave a Comment 
Lionel Messi has scored 48 goals this season, more than all at Zaragoza and Sporting Gijon combined
"Messi's 228 goals in only 311 appearances for Barcelona leave him seven shy of Cesar Rodriguez’s benchmark of 235."
Rather than get drawn into the indefinable debate about whether Lionel Messi was better than Joey Scoresalot for FC Quitegood in the 1960s, why not simply appreciate the Barcelona magician for how special he is? Michael Lintorn picks out some of the stats and videos that showcase his brilliance...
Barcelona
Lionel Messi is already frightening close to becoming Barcelona's all-time leading scorer in official competitions, his 228 goals in only 311 appearances for the club leaving him seven shy of Cesar Rodriguez's benchmark of 235, which was set back in the 1950s.
Having tied the previous best of 47 in 2009-10, last season he smashed Brazilian legend Ronaldo's record for the most strikes in a single campaign with 53, and he is on course to up the ante again. His Leverkusen quintet takes him to 48 this term, a figure that he didn't reach until April 12 a year ago.
The Champions League
As odds of [1.01] indicate, Messi's heroics against Leverkusen leave him almost certain to finish as the Champions League top scorer for the fourth straight season, which would be another first.
He has already equalled his 2010-11 haul of 12, a joint-Champions League era best, leaving him with up to five opportunities to break it.
German great Gerd Muller is the only other four-time chart topper but required five years to achieve the feat, and also tied at the top in two of those.
By firing five past Leverkusen, Messi also set a Champions League era record for most goals in a game, becoming the first to do it since Soren Lerby for Ajax in a 10-0 breeze past Omonia 33 years earlier. Two seasons back he became the first to score four in a knockout match at home to Arsenal.
El Clasico
If it is performances in big matches that separate the good players from the greats, then Messi's record in arguably the most high-profile match in world football is a perfect illustration of why he is held in such a high esteem.
The 24-year-old has netted 13 times against Real Madrid, a tally that makes him the second most prolific Barcelona player ever to participate in the fixture after Cesar, with just two more strikes required for him to stand alone at the top.
He also leads the way when it comes to Clasico assists with ten and remains the youngest Clasico scorer, an honour he claimed - as you do - with a hat-trick as a 19-year-old back in March 2007.
The awards
Messi has been awarded the Ballon d'Or in each of the last three years, becoming just the second player in history to be anointed the best in the world three years in a row, following in the footsteps of current UEFA president Michel Platini.
He is the only man to have been picked by his fellow professionals in the FIFPro World XI in each of the last five seasons, as well as featuring in the fan-voted UEFA Team of the Year in each of the last four too.
Are there any other laudable accomplishments absent from this list? Of course there are, so please share them in the box below...
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