5 Lionel Messi records that are impossible to break

Lionel Messi. The player who beggars all description. One for whom no words will suffice. The epitome of footballing prowess.

Long after he has retired, his name will be chanted as the individual who elevated the beautiful game to an art. Who redefined the sport named 'Football' per se. Who never failed to enrapture the audience with his eponymous composure, balance, dribbling, passing, intellect and whatnot.

Lionel Messi is arguably the greatest footballer to have ever stepped onto the football pitch if ever there was one. And you don't have to take my word for that as the greats of the sport have already acknowledged his authority as such.

So without further gilding the lily, let us take a look at 5 records held by the Argentine which are impossible to be surpassed.

#5 Most official goals in a calendar year: 91 goals (2012)

Lionel Messi is easily one of the most prolific goalscorers in world football. In fact, in 2012, Messi broke Gerd Muller’s record of 85 goals, which was set in 1972, by registering an astounding tally of 91 goals (combined in all official competitions for Barcelona and Argentina).

Messi's total of 91 goals came in 69 official matches, 79 in 60 appearances for the Blaugrana and 12 in 9 matches for the Albiceleste. 

Consequently, that's an average of 1.319 goals per game and 66 minutes per goal. Leo was even honoured with the Guinness World Record title for most goals in a calendar year for this accomplishment.

#4 Youngest player to win 4 Ballon d'Or award

The Ballon d'Or is undoubtedly the most coveted individual prize in modern football - a glittering accolade eyed by the best footballers of each generation.

While most players find it hard to clinch the award in their entire footballing career, Lionel Messi astonishingly first pulled off this feat at the tender age of 22.

By 2012, Leo had bagged 4 Ballon d'Ors in total and he had achieved all this while he was only 25 years, 6 months and 15 days old, much to everyone's surprise. Hence, he became the youngest player to lift the award for the fourth time in his illustrious career.

Such an extraordinary feat can only be overshadowed when pigs fly!

#3 Most assists in La Liga: 151

Messi's capabilities in front of goal are unquestionable. As mentioned earlier, he is excellent at driving the ball into the back of the net but besides that, he even excels at engineering assists for his fellow team-mates.

As a result, he has racked up the most assists in La Liga since the league's inception which are 151 in number. Given the market scenario nowadays with millions being lashed out with gay abandon for top-quality footballers, we could very well see this record remain unbroken for good.

#2 Winning 4 Ballon d'Or awards on the spin

Even though both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have landed 5 Ballon d'Ors each over the course of the past decade, the Argentine's triumph of winning 4 Ballon d'Ors successively between 2009-2012 is a remarkable record, which is unlikely to be transcended for years to come.

The record is a manifestation of La Pulga's dedication, perseverance, consistency and the ability to dominate the footballing scene for quite a long time.

Bearing in mind the competitive nature of football these days, which is destined to amplify in the upcoming years, the idea of this record being eclipsed sounds far-fetched.

#1 All-time highest goalscorer in La Liga: 388

As a consequence of his exceptional goal-scoring abilities, Lionel Messi is also atop La Liga's all-time goals chart having managed a phenomenal 388 goals in 424 appearances.

This total comes at a rate of 0.92 goals per game, which are some staggering numbers. The second on the chart is the erstwhile Real Madrid megastar - Cristiano Ronaldo - who left Los Blancos this past summer.

Now with Cristiano Ronaldo gone, there is no imminent threat to Messi's aforementioned record, which is only bound to increase considering he has still two to three years on his side as Barcelona's linchpin.