The best moments of Messi’s incredible career in pictures.
To mark ten years since Lionel Messi made his debut for Barcelona, CaughtOffside looks back at some of the best moments in the incredible career of a player now regarded as perhaps the best of all time.
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The Argentine has wowed fans all over the world with his magneficent ability, and it is hard to pick just a handful of moments from the career of a player who has achieved so much and broken almost every record there is to break, but here’s a look at just some of his finest moments so far…
1) First goal for Barcelona
Lionel Messi celebrates scoring his first goal for Barcelona in a La Liga game against Albacete, becoming the club’s youngest ever scorer at the time aged just 17 years, ten months and seven days.
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2) Hat trick vs Real Madrid
Having established himself in the Barcelona first-team, though still very much a youngster, Messi scores a superb hat-trick in a 3-3 draw against Real Madrid in 2007.
3) Birth of the ‘false 9’ in 6-2 Bernabeu win
In a new ‘false 9’ role that would spark him to reach new heights, Messi is in dazzling form to score twice in Barcelona’s 6-2 win over Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in 2009.
4) Goal in 2009 Champions League final
Messi scores the second goal in a 2-0 Champions League final win over Manchester United, sealing the treble for Barca in a memorable season.
5) Incredible four goals vs Arsenal
Messi continues to go goal-crazy, and finds the back of the net four times the following season in a Champions League meeting with Arsenal.
6) Stunning solo goal seals semi-final win at Real Madrid
Messi scores one of the goals of his career as he takes on almost the entire Real Madrid defence to make it 2-0 in the Champions League semi-final at the Bernabeu, ultimately leading to another appearance in the final.
7) Second Champions League win
Messi scores against Manchester United in the final again, winning the Champions League for the second time of his career, and making it a double that season.
8) Five goals vs Bayer Leverkusen
In his finest individual season, Messi scores an amazing five goals in one game against Bayer Leverkusen, making himself the first player ever to do so in the Champions League.
9) 73rd goal of the season in cup final win
Although the Copa del Rey was Barcelona’s only trophy that season, Messi’s goal against Athletic Bilbao in the 2012 final made it an absolutely astonishing 73 in all competitions that season.
10) Stunning hat trick vs Brazil
Later that summer, Messi enjoyed one of his best matches for Argentina, scoring a hat-trick against fierce rivals Brazil, including one stunning solo effort from distance.
11) All-time El Clasico top scorer
Messi celebrates a hat-trick away to Real Madrid last season, making him the all-time leading scorer in the history of ‘El Clasico’, with 21 goals in the fixture.
12) World Cup final
Messi silences some critics with an improved display at this summer’s World Cup with Argentina, though he can’t quite match Diego Maradonna in guiding his country to the trophy as they lose 1-0 to Germany in the final.
13) 400 career goals
Messi scores against Granada this season to make it an amazing 400 career goals for club and country, at the age of just 26. He goes on to score again and get two assists in a 6-0 victory.