Undoubtedly, Pelé was great; so also was Diego Maradona. We cannot leave out Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Ronaldo De lima, Ronaldinho, Kaka and of course Thierry Henry from the hall of greatness.

However, with regards to goals, awards, records, and honors, it would be absolutely wrong to place Lionel Messi and the above players in the same box. And it is because of this I stated earlier that it takes more than greatness, in the world of football, to attain the height of the world’s greatest player of all time.

Arguments will, of course, find room to flourish here, but I will simply let facts and statistics speak for themselves.

Here are the incredible statics of  Lionel Andrés 'Leo' Messi

Barcelona

Winner:

La Liga (8): 2004-05, 2005-06, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2012-13, 2014-15, 2015-16

Copa del Rey (3): 2008-09, 2011-12, 2014-15, 2015-16

UEFA Champions League (4): 2005-06, 2008-09, 2010-11, 2014-15

Supercopa de España (6): 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016

UEFA Super Cup (3): 2009, 2011, 2015

FIFA Club World Cup (3): 2009, 2011, 2015

Messi stats for Argentina

Winner:

Olympic Gold Medal: 2008

FIFA U-20 World Cup: 2005

Individual Awards

Messi stats for Barcelona:

La Liga All Time Top Scorer Honorary Golden Boot: 2015

FIFA Ballon d'Or (3): 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015

FIFA World Player of the Year: 2009

World Soccer Player of the Year (3): 2009, 2011, 2012

World Soccer Greatest XI of All Time: 2013

Onze d'Or (3): 2009, 2011, 2012

European Golden Shoe (3): 2010, 2012, 2013

UEFA Best Player in Europe Award: 2010-11, 2014-15

UEFA Club Footballer of the Year: 2009

UEFA Goal of the Season: 2014-15

FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball (2): 2009, 2011

UEFA Champions League Top Goalscorer (5): 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015

UEFA Champions League Forward of the Year: 2009

AS.com La Liga Player of the Year: 2014-15

Trofeo Alfredo Di Stéfano (4): 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2014-15

Don Balón Award (3): 2007, 2009, 2010

L'Équipe Champion of Champions: 2011

LFP Best Player (5): 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013

LFP Best Forward (5): 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013

La Liga Ibero-American Player of the Year (5): 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012

FIFPro World Young Player of the Year (3): 2006, 2007, 2008

World Soccer Young Player of the Year (3): 2006, 2007, 2008

Bravo Award: 2007

Golden Boy: 2005

Marca Legend Award: 2009

ESPY Awards Best International Athlete (2): 2012, 2015

El País King of European Soccer (4): 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012

IFFHS World's Top Goal Scorer (2): 2011, 2012

IFFHS World's best Top Division Goal Scorer (2): 2012, 2013

FIFA/FIFPro World XI (8): 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015

UEFA Team of the Year (6): 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015

ESM Team of the Year (7): 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013

Copa del Rey Top Goalscorer (2): 2010–11, 2013–14

Argentine Sportsperson of the Year Award: 2011

Olimpia de Plata (8): 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013

Gazzetta Dello Sports Sportsman of the Year: 2011

Messi stats for Argentina:

2014 FIFA World Cup: Golden Ball (Best player)

2014 FIFA World Cup: Dream Team

FIFA U-20 World Cup Player of the Tournament: 2005

FIFA U-20 World Cup Top Goalscorer: 2005

Copa América Young Player of the Tournament: 2007

Copa América Top Assist Provider: 2011, 2015

Copa América Best Player: 2015

Records

Messi stats in World football:

Most FIFA Ballon d'Or awards: 5

Guinness World Records title for the most goals in a year: 91 goals

Most consecutive European Cup top scorer awards: 4

Most Goals Scored in 1 UEFA Champions League Match (joint with Luiz Adriano): 2012

Most Hat-Tricks Scored in UEFA Champions League

Most Man of the Match Awards in a Single World Cup: 4 (2014)

Messi stats in Spain:

Most goals scored for a single club: 410 goals

Most goals scored in La Liga history: 286 goals

Most assists made in La Liga history: 113 assists

Most goals scored in La Liga in a season: 50 goals (2011-12)

Most consecutive La Liga matches scored in 21 matches (33 goals)

Most La Liga hat-tricks in a season: 8 hat-tricks (shared with Cristiano Ronaldo)

Youngest player to score 200 La Liga goals: 25 years

First player to score at least 25 goals in five consecutive seasons in La Liga (shared with Cristiano Ronaldo): 2009–10 to 2013–14

First player to score at least 20 goals in six consecutive seasons in La Liga: 2008–09 to 2013–14

Most goals scored in El Clásico matches: 21 goals

Most hat-tricks in El Clásico matches: 2

Most goals scored in Derbi Barceloní: 12

Most goals scored in the Supercopa de España: 10 goals

Messi stats for Barcelona:

Most goals scored in El Clásico matches: 21 goals

Most goals scored in Derbi Barceloní: 12

Top scorer in official competitions: 397 goals

Top scorer in La Liga: 286 goals

Top scorer in UEFA Champions League: 77 goals

Top scorer in international competitions: 80 goals

Most hat-tricks in official competitions: 32 hat-tricks

Most hat-tricks in La Liga: 24 hat-tricks

Most away goals scored in Barcelona history in La Liga: 120 goals

Messi stats for Argentina:

Most goals scored in a year (national team): 12 goals (shared with Gabriel Batistuta)

Youngest Argentinian Player to have Scored in World Cup Finals:

18 years and 357 days.

In conclusion, I would simply say that: who the cap fits, let him wear it!

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