Lionel Messi holds so many records that there’s a good chance he’s not even aware of half of them.
Many of those records relate to the Champions League, a competition he won four times with Barcelona between 2006 and 2015, but has not played in since PSG’s last-16 defeat to Bayern Munich in 2023.
For example, Messi scored the most goals for a single club (120 for Barcelona), the most hat-tricks (eight, shared with Cristiano Ronaldo) and scored in the most consecutive seasons (18, alongside Karim Benzema).
But this week, three of his personal benchmarks were surpassed - each by one of this generation’s three elite goalscorers: Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland.
Youngest to reach 100 games
Back in September 2015, Messi became the youngest player to reach 100 Champions League appearances when he featured in a 1-1 draw against Roma at the age of 28 years and 84 days.
On Wednesday night, he saw that record fall when 27-year-old Mbappe made his 100th appearance in the competition.
However, there was at least a sense of symmetry, as it came against the same opposition. Real Madrid came back from 3-1 down to beat Roma 4-3 at the Stadio Olimpico.
Mbappe celebrated with a goal, his 72nd in 100 Champions League appearances.
Fastest to 60 goals
As if that wasn’t enough, Messi simultaneously lost another of his records over in Manchester, at the Etihad Stadium, where City were hosting defending champions PSG.
The visitors put on a first-half clinic but had to survive an Erling Haaland-inspired fightback after the break.
By scoring twice on the night, Haaland became the fastest player to reach 60 goals in the competition, doing so in just 60 games. His second goal took his tally to 61 in 60 appearances. Messi had previously held the record, having reached 60 goals in 80 games.
Goals after 30
On Tuesday night, it was widely reported that Kane had broken Messi’s record for Champions League goals scored after turning 30. More accurately, Kane moved ahead of Messi on the list.
The record is held by Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored 68 times in the Champions League after his 30th birthday.
However, Messi, who scored 35 times after turning 30, did find himself pushed further down the list as Kane’s double against Viking for Bayern Munich took his tally to 36. Given the way the Englishman is making up for lost time, perhaps he could yet threaten Ronaldo’s mark.
