Year in Review: Five achievements of Lionel Messi in 2020

Add as a preferred source on Google

Bengaluru, December 22: FC Barcelona and Lionel Messi have both been the epitome of consistency over the last decade or so. While Barcelona might have not enjoyed as much success as usual over the last couple of years, Lionel Messi, as an individual, shows absolutely no intention of stopping or even slowing down.

The 33-year-old's relationship with the Catalan giants has often come under speculations but all that has had no effect on Messi's performance as the Argentine maestro keeps on making records for fun. 2020 has once again been a season of records for Messi and in this article, we will take a look at five such records made by the six-time Balon d'Or winner in the year 2020.

1. Once again the top scorer in La Liga

With 25 La Liga goals to his name, Lionel Messi once again bagged the prestigious Pichichi Trophy. The Argentine superstar became La Liga’s top scorer for the seventh time, thus setting a new record in the history of the Spanish league. It was also his fourth successive Pichichi Trophy in a row which is also another record.

2. Set a new La Liga record for most assists in one season

Lionel Messi is not only one of the greatest goalscorers of all time but also one of the greatest creators of all time as well. And, it was once again proved as the Argentine maestro created a new La Liga record for most assists in one season. He provided a total of 21 assists in the 2019-20 season eclipsing his former teammate Xavi Hernandez's record of 20 assists during the 2008-09 season.

3. Champions League goal of the season

Lionel Messi has scored a number of memorable goals in his career and he scored a beauty last season in the Champions League as well which was later awarded as the best goal in the Champions League in 2019-20. The award was presented to him after the team of technical observers consisting of Packie Bonner, Cosmin Contra, Aitor Karanka, Roberto Martínez, Ginés Meléndez, Phil Neville, Willi Ruttensteiner, Gareth Southgate came to the decision.

4. Laureus Sportsman of the Year Award

This year, Messi became the first Argentinian as well as the first footballer to win prestigious Laureus Sportsman of the Year Award. The Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsman of the Year is an annual award honouring the achievements of individual men from the world of sports. It was first awarded in 2000 as one of the seven constituent awards presented during the Laureus World Sports Awards and the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Usain Bolt have won this award on previous occasions since the award started in 2016.

5. Surpassed the 700 goal mark in his career

Lionel Messi entered the 700-goal club in 2020 that already consisted of players like Gerd Muller, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ferenc Puskas, Pele, Romario and Josef Bican. The Argentine superstar scored the 700th goal of his career by converting a penalty against Atletico Madrid in La Liga and now has 713 to his name.