7 Guinness World Records Held by Lionel Messi As Ronaldo Becomes Most Capped International Player

• Lionel Messi has shattered a number of world records since becoming a professional footballer
• The Argentine superstar achieved incredible feats during his 17 successful years at Barcelona
• He holds a number of Guinness World Records and Sports Brief looks at the seven most notable

Argentine legend, Lionel Messi, holds a staggering number of Guinness World Records and the Inter Miami-bound superstar is expected to smash more before he retires.

The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner has already bagged 34 trophies at club level, making him one of the most decorated footballers ever.

Messi has won the FIFA World Cup, Copa América, and CONMEBOL titles on the international scene.

Sportskeeda reports that the Barcelona legend holds a staggering number of fabulous records. Sports Brief looks at 7 of the Guinness World Records held by Messi.

7. Most World Cup MOTM awards - 11:

Guinness World Records confirmed that Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Arjen Robben had each won six Man of the Match awards at World Cup tournaments before Qatar 2022.

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However, the Argentine veteran pulled away significantly from the pack by earning the individual accolade in five separate games at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, including the final.

6. Youngest to 50 UCL goals

The then-Barcelona star was just 24 when he scored his 50th goal in the UEFA Champions League, achieving such a feat on April 3, 2012.

This was during the quarter-final clash against AC Milan, where he netted a brace in Barcelona’s 3-1 win. Messi became the youngest player in the tournament's history to reach that milestone.

5. Most video game cover appearances

Messi is the most featured footballer on video game covers across multiple franchises, including the FIFA series from EA Sports and the PES game series from Konami.

The Argentine has graced 10 game covers - PES 2009, PES 2010, PES 2011, FIFA Street, FIFA 13, FIFA 14, FIFA 15, FIFA 16, PES 17, and the PES 18 Legendary Edition.

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4. Footballer with highest annual earnings

At 35, Messi is the highest-earning player. His arch-rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, had earned that status for the past two seasons running.

However, the Argentine now earns $80 million a year, with an additional $27mil coming from various endorsement and brand deals.

3. Most goals in UCL match

In 2012, Bayer Leverkusen needed a miracle to overturn their 3-1 first-leg loss to Barcelona as they travelled to Camp Nou.

Unfortunately, the night belonged to Messi, who became the first player to score five goals in a Champions League encounter.

Brazilian striker, Luiz Adriano has since equalled the record while playing for Shakhtar Donetsk against BATE Borisov in 2014.

2. Most foreign player LaLiga appearances

The Argentinean featured in 520 La Liga matches for Barcelona between 2004 and 2021, making him the foreign player with the most appearances in the Spanish league. He netted 474 league goals in total for La Blaugrana.

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1. Most goals by Copa America substitute

On June 10, 2016, Messi netted a hat-trick against Panama at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois, the USA, despite coming on as a substitute.

Nicolas Otamendi put La Albiceleste ahead in the 7th minute, but the goals flooded in as soon as Messi came on in the 61st minute of the game.

He needed just seven minutes to score, making it 3-0 in the 78th minute before completing his hat-trick 9 minutes later before Sergio Aguero added the icing on the cake.

Guinness World Records honours Ronaldo

Sports Brief also reported that Ronaldo's achievement of 200 international caps for Portugal had been recognised by Guinness World Records.

The Al-Nassr superstar accomplished this remarkable feat during the Selecao's Euro 2024 qualifiers match against Iceland on Tuesday, June 20.

As a tribute to his accomplishment, Ronaldo was presented with a formal certificate by Guinness World Records, as an new official record holder.