The story began on the evening of October 16, 2004. On the lawn of Espanyol's Lluis Companys stadium, a great hope for FC Barcelona made his debut in the Blaugrana jersey, replacing the Portuguese Deco, one of the stars of the era of the Catalan workforce.
This frail Argentinian is 17 years and four months old, his hair falling over his shoulders and a number 30 which bars his back below five gold letters: M, E, S, S and I. The legend has just been born. in the eyes of the football world.
On October 16, 2004, 17-year old Lionel Messi made his league debut for #FCBarcelona in a 1-0 win against cross-town rivals Espanyol at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, Barcelona.
The rest is history... #Messi𓃵 pic.twitter.com/eCmQeettPP
— Sports Interaction (@SIASport) October 16, 2022
Eighteen years later, almost to the day, Lionel Messi is about to celebrate quite a number.
Against Australia, this Saturday evening (8 p.m.), in the round of 16 of the World Cup, the Paris Saint-Germain striker will play the 1000th match of his professional career, in all competitions.
Only one of his compatriots, former defender Javier Zanetti, had already crossed this more than symbolic bar.
Among the players present in Qatar, there are only the two veterans Cristiano Ronaldo and Dani Alves to do better.
38 trophies, including four Champions League and a Copa America
The South American genius has spent 83,815 minutes competing on a pitch.
That's more than 58 days of non-stop fun for football fans.
Most of his 999 games have of course been played with Barça (778), then the Argentine selection (168) and finally PSG, which he joined in the summer of 2021 (53).
Unsurprisingly, more than half of his illustrious appearances have come in La Liga (520) and Real Madrid are the club he has faced the most to date (47), ahead of Sevilla FC and Atlético de Madrid (43).
According to his exploits, the seven-time Ballon d'Or has lifted 38 trophies, including four Champions League, ten La Liga and seven King's Cups.
After seasons of scarcity in Albiceleste (which hadn't won anything for twenty-eight years anyway), the Pulga finally won a title with its national team by beating Brazil at home, at the Maracana, in the Copa final. America 2021 (1-0).
¡Así fueron los partidos centenarios para Messi!
Leo jugará ante Australia su partido número 1000 como profesional.
https://t.co/fmtvLHTRfh pic.twitter.com/u3n0L8FJSQ
— SportsCenter (@SC_ESPN) December 2, 2022
All he needs to do is lead Argentina, with whom he has already played 22 times (national record) in the World Cup and participated in five editions (like the Mexicans Carbajal and Marquez, the German Matthäus and the inevitable Cristiano Ronaldo), at the meeting on December 18 at the Lusail stadium.
A goal every 104 minutes
His teammates and compatriots would have nothing against a small goal here and there on the way to the final, like the one that relieved an entire nation in a group match against Mexico.
That's good.
Even though he missed a penalty on Matchday 3 against Poland, Messi has already shaken the nets and thrilled the crowds 788 times (for 348 assists).
That's an average of one goal every 104 minutes.
Not always knowing how to settle for a single achievement in 90 minutes (two quintuplets, six quadruplets, forty-seven triplets and one hundred and forty-nine doubles)…
In 2012, you even had to pinch yourself to believe it when he scored 91 goals, the highest tally ever in a calendar year, better than Bayern Munich's legendary German bomber Gerd Müller forty years earlier (85).
This evening of October 16, 2004, who could have imagined all this?