In so many ways, Lionel Messi is now widely considered to be the greatest footballer to ever walk the Earth but it’s taken him until now to reach a milestone achieved by Jamie Carragher.
The Barcelona and Argentina phenomenon – who this summer wanted to call time on his long association with the Catalan giants, with whom he played since his arrival as a junior in 2001 – has collected a series of both team and individual honours throughout his glittering career.
Messi has won 10 La Liga titles, six Copa del Reys, four Champions Leagues, three UEFA Super Cups and three FIFA Club World Cups with Barca but after their recent struggles – which can be traced back to a 4-0 thrashing against Liverpool at Anfield in May 2019 – he expressed his desire to quit the Camp Nou, only to be told that the terms of his contract did not allow him to leave on a free transfer.
However, after securing six Ballon d’Ors, a World Cup Golden Ball and six European Golden Shoes, only now can the 33-year-old say that he can match Liverpool legend Carragher in one respect.
On Wednesday night, Messi became the 13th player to make 150 appearances in UEFA competitions, drawing level with another one-club man Carragher in the process.
Messi marked the occasion with a goal – a fifth minute penalty – in Barcelona’s 2-1 Champions League home win over Ukrainian club Dynamo Kiev.
It was his 120th strike in UEFA matches, with only old rival Cristiano Ronaldo (133) ahead of him on that list.
Carragher himself replied to the announcement on Twitter in good humour with a clip of him turning to the camera and coolly celebrating a goal on a Sky Sports television programme.
Former Real Madrid and Porto goalkeeper Iker Casillas currently holds the record for the most appearances in UEFA competitions with a total of 188 with the aforementioned Ronaldo 10 games behind him.
