Lionel Messi turned 39 on Wednesday while playing in the middle of a historic World Cup and still closing in on milestones no footballer has reached. After becoming the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history this week with his 18th tournament goal, the Argentine star is showing no signs of slowing down, even after his move to the United States was widely seen as the start of a decline.
One of his biggest targets is an extraordinary 50 official team titles. Messi already has 45, the most in history, and if Inter Miami and Argentina keep winning, he could become the first player ever to reach that mark. He is also pursuing Juninho Pernambucano’s record for direct free kicks. Messi has 71, ahead of Pelé’s 70, and needs seven more to pass Juninho’s 77.
On the World Cup stage, Messi is one assist away from becoming the tournament’s outright assist leader. He currently has eight, tied with Diego Maradona and Pelé. If he scores in the next match against Jordan, he would break Enner Valencia’s record and extend his streak to seven consecutive World Cup games with a goal, dating back to the knockout rounds in Qatar.
The Argentine captain is also chasing several club milestones. In MLS, he needs four more long-range goals this season to set a league record for goals from outside the box, topping Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s eight. He is two assists away from becoming the first modern-era player to reach 400 official career assists for clubs and country, and he needs five more goals for Inter Miami to surpass Gonzalo Higuain and become the club’s all-time top scorer. The article notes that Messi already holds the all-time scoring records for Barcelona and Argentina, and says the last chapter of his career still appears far off.