Lionel Messi Goal Record to Be Honoured During Barcelona vs. Atletico Madrid

Lionel Messi’s record-breaking La Liga goalscoring exploits are to be honoured by Spain’s professional football league on Jan. 11, with a short ceremony that will take place before Barcelona’s clash with Atletico Madrid at the Camp Nou, per Sergi Font of Marca. Messi is no stranger to creating history; in fact, he seems to break a record every time he steps out onto the pitch, but edging ahead of Telmo Zarra in the Spanish top flight’s all-time goalscoring charts was a long time coming.

t was always a case of when he would do it rather than if, and the Argentinian superstar accomplished the feat in some style with a hat-trick against Sevilla back in November. Zarra set the bar at 251 goals during a 15-year spell at Athletic Bilbao from 1940 to 1955, but with Messi at just 27 years of age and in his prime, who knows where the new bar will eventually be set. It’s a case of 258 and counting, per Opta Jose: While it seemed Messi wouldn’t receive anything bar millions of Twitter congratulations, LFP president Javier Tebas recently insisted he hasn’t forgotten about the Barcelona man, per Miki Soria of Sport. And rightly so—what Messi has accomplished in a generation that Zarra may well have looked completely out of his depth in is remarkable. Becoming the Champions League’s all-time top scorer followed soon after for Messi, and it would appear there is no sign of stepping off the gas; 23 goals in 22 appearances in all competitions shows that, per WhoScored.com.

Many will argue Cristiano Ronaldo is now the better player, and another Ballon d'Or award may soon add to the Portuguese's claims, but Messi is very much a once-in-a-lifetime kind of player. Both sets of players from Barca and Atletico Madrid will watch history being credited in January when Messi is officially honoured, although they may have contrasting thoughts going through their heads. From rejoicing that he’s your team-mate, to dreading seeing his record-breaking pair of clean heels breeze past you, it will be a momentous occasion for all involved. However, individual honours aren't what Messi is all about. The Argentinian is a team player in every sense, and although he'll come away from the clash with Atletico with yet another trophy for the cabinet, he won't be happy without three points coming with it.