Lionel Messi celebrated his 1,000 professional games: “Always with the same enthusiasm”

There are few footballers who can say they have reached four figures in games played. Lionel Messi has amassed 1000 professional games in Argentina’s 2-1 win over Australia in the 2022 Qatar round of 16. At 35 years old and with a level that continues to amaze local and foreign players, his goal is to be able to win the long-awaited World Cup.

On his Instagram account, the Rosary, to celebrate this figure, has made a publication in which he commented that he retains the same enthusiasm and desire as on the day he made his debut. And he thanks all those who accompany him on a daily basis in his more than current career.

“A thousand games already, what madness… And always with the same illusion I felt in the first one I played as a professional. Thank you so much to everyone who accompanies me on this beautiful journey”were Lio’s words.

Messi accompanied the publication together with an image in which he can be seen wearing the shirt of the Argentine national team, Barcelona and PSG.

In the comments, in addition to more than 4.5 million likes, Messi has received the congratulations of many players who have had the pleasure of sharing a playing field with him. “Thank You My King”expressed Papu Gómez. “A thousand games and they still don’t know how to stop you… they’ll never know. Thank you for everything”joked Maxi Tucu Pereyra, among many others.

A history full of records

It has been 6,625 days since the man from Rosario made his Barcelona debut on 16 October 2004, when his team beat Espanyol 1-0 in a Catalan derby corresponding to the seventh round of the 2004/05 Spanish league.

Since He wore the Barça shirt 778 times, that of Paris Saint-Germain 53 and that of the Argentine national team 169. In his 1,000 appearances, he scored 789 goals and provided 348 assists.

To these matches can be added the friendlies played with Barcelona (58) and with PSG (3), as well as his participation with selected under-20 (18) and under-23 (5) teams and with subsidiary teams of Barcelona B (22) and Barcelona C (10). In those 116 clashes he scored another 66 goals.

Although his first time wearing an albiceleste was in a friendly match that Hugo Tocalli’s Under-20 team beat Paraguay 8-0 at the Argentinos Juniors stadium on 29 June 2004 (four months before his Barcelona debut). Messi’s journey in the senior team began on August 17, 2005 in a friendly against Hungary in Budapest: Came on 18 minutes into the second half for Lisandro López and was sent off 45 seconds later for hitting defender Vilmos Vanczák in the face.

In his 169 international caps, the winner of seven Ballon d’Ors has converted 93 points, far more than any other player (followed by Gabriel Batistuta, with 54, and Sergio Agüero, with 42). The first cry of him was on March 1, 2006 in a friendly match that the team led by José Pekerman lost 3-2 with Croatia in Basel.

That match against the Croatians came 107 days before Leo’s World Cup debut: after being on the bench for 90 minutes against the Ivory Coast in the first group match of Germany 2006, he came on in the 30th minute of the second half of the clash with Serbia and Montenegro (replaced Maximiliano Rodríguez) and scored the last goal in the 6-0 win.

Since, Messi represented the national team in 23 games from five World Cups, in which he scored nine goals (he is two behind Batistuta, who has scored 10 in three editions). In Wednesday’s 2-0 victory over Poland, he became the Argentine player with the most appearances in this type of tournament: he overtook Diego Armando Maradona (21 in four World Cups).

Next Friday’s match against the Netherlands will deliver him together with Miroslav Klose (24 games) as the second most capped player at the World Cup. Furthermore, and in the event that Argentina reaches the semi-finals, he will be able to equal Lothar Matthaus (25 games) as the player with the most appearances at the World Cup.

Indeed, he could even surpass him, given that by playing in the semifinal he would have the possibility of going to the final or playing the match for third place. In case all of the above happens and the 10th plays those games, he would be the record player with 26 games.

Beyond the thousand matches and possible records, Messi’s goal is clear and well known: to become world champion. In 2021 he was able to lift the Copa América with the Albiceleste shirt and cancel one of the earrings of his extraordinary career. In the lands of Qatar he will try to realize his most elusive dream and put the finishing touch to a career full of titles, goals and records.

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