Published By: Rohit Chatterjee

Messi at 25: Had He Ended His Career, He Would've Still Retired as One of the Bests

At 25, Messi achieved more than some of the game’s legends ever did

In 2022, Lionel Messi, the greatest player on earth, is 34. The Argentine star is currently a player of Paris Saint-Germain and so far, he has won seven Ballon d’Or trophies along with many other titles. In short, at 34, Lionel Messi’s records are magical and almost untouchable. However, have you ever imagined how Messi’s career would have been if he had retired at the age of 25? If you have not imagined yet, this article is bound to surprise you.

Four Ballon d’Or before 25

If Messi had retired at 25, he would still possess four Ballon d’Or trophies in his trophy cabinet. The superstar won his first d’Or when he was merely 22 in the year 2009. It was the same year Barcelona, under the leadership of Pep Guardiola, won a sextuple (six trophies in a year). His second trophy arrived at 23, whereas Messi secured his third at 24. When he was 25, he won his fourth d’Or.

Three UEFA Champions League titles

Merely at the age of 25, Lionel Messi had won three UEFA Champions League titles with Barcelona. His first UCL title arrived in 2005-2006, followed by another one in 2008-2009. Lionel Messi won his third UCL before 25 in 2010-2011. Unfortunately, Messi’s last UCL came in 2014-2015 and since then, the GOAT has been struggling to win his fifth one.

More individual awards

Apart from winning the Ballon d’Or four times in a row, Lionel Messi picked up his first and second Golden Shoe award before turning 25. The Argentinian number 10 won his first in 2009-2010 for scoring 34 goals whereas the second one was secured by him in 2011-2012 for 50 goals. Apart from Golden Shoe awards, he also won four consecutive UCL top scorer awards from 2008 to 2012.

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Most goals and most assists

A record intact even after 10 years, Lionel Messi scored 91 goals in a calendar year before turning 25. He created the record in 2012 and the 91 goals were scored by Messi in 69 matches. Before Messi, the record was held by Gerd Muller (85 goals in a calendar year). Last but not the least, before turning 25, Messi also scored 36 assists in a calendar year (2011); a record that was intact until Serbia midfielder Dusan Tadic broke it in December 2021.

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