Despite not achieving his best physical condition after the national team training session, Lionel Messi was still named the starting forward by coach Valverde in the Catalan derby in the early morning of March 31 against Espanyol. And no one else, El Pulga himself shined with a double to help Barcelona win with a score of 2-0.
Notably, this was Messi's 334th victory in La Liga. He has equalized the winning record of goalkeeper Iker Casillas, who had also won 334 La Liga matches for Real Madrid.
The Spanish spider needed 16 seasons with 510 appearances to create that record. He surpassed two other legends, Zubizarreta (332) and Raul (327) in 2015. But Messi only needs less than 15 seasons and 445 matches to complete.
If he beats Villarreal on April 2, Leo Messi will officially break Cascascas' record, becoming the player with the most wins in La Liga history and making Cascascascas the second runner-up.
Last night's double against Espanyol also helped Messi increase his total goals in La Liga this season to 31. He is currently leading the race alone Pichichi (Gunners), 13 goals ahead of the second-placed player (Luis Suarez). In all competitions, El Pulga has scored a total of 41 goals this season.
This is the 10th consecutive season (since the 2009-10 season), Lionel Messi has scored at least 40 goals for Barcelona in all competitions. There was a time when the Argentine star scored 73 goals (2011-12).
Up to now, Lionel Messi has held many records in La Liga. No one else, he is the greatest striker in the history of this tournament with 412 goals in 444 appearances.
The achievements of the number 10 Argentina are not mentioned much, so La Liga President Rafael Tebas recently declared: "Messi is the most important player in the history of the tournament".
At the age of 31, still able to extend his 4-5 years of peak, Messi promises to extend his history in La Liga. Achievements that will never be repeated.
