Barcelona had yet another poor game against Cadiz last weekend however, Lionel Messi was still able to break yet another record for the club. With his appearance against Cadiz, Messi became the player to make the most number of appearances for Barcelona in the top tier of the Spanish league. The record was previously held by Catalan legend, Xavi Hernandez but he has now been overtaken by the best in the world.
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In his illustrious 17 year career with Barcelona, Xavi managed to make 506 appearances in the La Liga but the Argentine legend broke that record after his appearance in the match against Cadiz. Xavi still holds the record for most appearances for Barcelona in all competitions but Messi is closing in on that as well. The Spaniard boasts 767 all-time appearances while Messi is on 761, just seven games away from breaking the record and cementing himself further in Barcelona’s history.
The match, however, did not go as planned and the Catalans dropped points and were thus unable to capitalize on Atletico Madrid dropping points. The Club would be back into the title race had they managed to gain all three points but they could only manage a draw courtesy of a Messi penalty. His goal takes his tally in the league to 16, same as his old teammate Luis Suarez.
These personal merits however mean little to the 33-year-old who proclaimed that he would rather win a trophy with Barcelona than get another individual award. It does not look likely that they will win a trophy this season, however, as the team is already 4-1 down against Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League and is also 2-0 down against Sevilla in the Copa del Rey.
Should the team continue to perform like this, the legend will leave the club at the end of the season. His future is anyway up for speculation but Barcelona aren’t doing themselves a favor by throwing away games like this. Messi is a competitive player who wants to win every trophy available and Barcelona are no longer the elite team who can perform like they used to.
Will Messi retire at the Nou Camp?