Yearender 2021: Lionel Messi, goals and records

The
Argentinian
superstar
seems
to
have
defied
the
normal
laws
of
aging
and
won
the
Ballon
d’Or
for
the
seventh
time
in
his
illustrious
career
in
2021.

2021
has
been
a
special
year
for
the
34-year-old
as
he
finally
clinched
his
first
trophy
with
his
country
leading
Argentina
to
the
Copa
America
silverware.

2021
was
a
memorable
year
for
Messi
for
another
reason
too
as
he
broke
millions
of
hearts
of
Barcelona
fans
across
the
globe
joining
French
giants
Paris
Saint-Germain
on
a
free
transfer.
It
was
by
no
means
a
forced
transfer
from
the
player’s
point
of
view.
Rather,
he
had
no
other
option
to
leave
his
beloved
club
due
to
their
financial
struggles
despite
the
Messi
willing
to
even
halving
his
wages.

Here,
we
take
a
look
at
Messi’s
list
of
achievements
in
2021.

Most
caps
for
Argentina

Messi
became
Argentina’s
record
appearance
maker
when
he
took
to
the
pitch
against
Bolivia
in
the
2021
Copa
America.
He
equaled
the
record
of
his
former
team-mate
Javier
Mascherano
of
147
appearances
against
Paraguay
and
broke
the
record
against
Bolivia.
He
scored
two
goals
and
assisted
another
for
La
Albiceleste
in
the
landmark
game.
Currently,
the
34-year-old
has
158
national
caps
to
his
name
having
scored
80.

Another
Ballon
d’Or

Messi
picked
up
his
seventh
Ballon
d’Or
award
in
2021,
extending
his
record
as
the
player
with
the
highest
number
of
Ballon
d’Or
awards
ever.
The
forward
beat
stern
competition
from
Robert
Lewandowski
and
Jorginho,
who
finished
in
second
and
third
place
respectively.
With
his
win
in
2021,
Messi
also
became
the
first
man
to
win
the
Ballon
d’Or
in
three
separate
decades.

Goals
and
assists

Messi
has
played
a
total
of
61
games
for
club
and
country
in
2021
and
he
has
scored
43
goals
in
the
process
having
created
18
for
his
teammates.
Out
of
these
43,
11
have
been
from
outside
of
the
box,
five
have
been
from
free
kicks
and
six
from
penalties.
The
34-year-old
has
scored
40
with
his
predominant
left
foot,
two
with
his
right
and
one
with
his
head.

Most
international
goals
by
a
South
American

Messi
became
the
top
scorer
in
international
football
from
South
America
having
gone
on
to
score
80
goals
in
158
games
for
Argentina
since
his
debut
beating
the
record
formerly
held
by
Brazilian
great
Pele.