Messi 600: The Opta numbers behind the Barcelona star´s latest milestone

Lionel Messi will reach yet another milestone in his storied career when he makes his 600th Barcelona appearance against Sevilla on Saturday.

With 30 major titles to his name and a glut of individual honours, Messi’s place as an all-time great is fully deserved and it is an inevitability that more will follow before he hangs up his boots.

Occasions such as this provide the perfect opportunity to reflect on Messi’s remarkable career to date.

So, as he prepares for appearance number 600, we enlisted the help of Opta to break down Messi’s time at Barca.

#Messi600

Leo #Messi on the cusp of Barça appearances pic.twitter.com/GkwOnVMFua

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) November 4, 2017

KEEPING UP APPEARANCES

Of Messi’s 599 appearances to date, 392 have come in the league, 119 in the Champions League, 62 in the Copa del Rey, 17 in the Supercopa de Espana and five and four respectively in the Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup.

A remarkable 425 have ended in victory, giving the Argentina international a 71 per cent win percentage.

Only Xavi (767) and Andres Iniesta (642) have made more appearances in a Barca shirt than Messi, while he will move ahead of Carles Puyol’s 392 league outings on Saturday.

Messi has long been Barca’s top scorer – his 523 dwarf second-placed Cesar with 232 – and he is the most prolific marksman in LaLiga history with 361 goals, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo on 286.

Ronaldo has the edge on Messi in the Champions League, however, scoring 110 goals to Messi’s 97.

SEVILLA A FITTING OPPONENT

Messi will be delighted to see Sevilla arrive at Camp Nou for his milestone match, having scored more goals against Barca’s LaLiga rivals than any other opponent.

The attacker has netted on 29 occasions against the men from Andalusia, outstripping his totals against Atletico Madrid (27), Real Madrid (24) and Valencia (24).

Arsenal are the foreign club against whom Messi has most frequently found the net. He has scored nine goals against the Gunners, just edging his eight versus both Celtic and AC Milan.

Camp Nou is predictably the site of most of Messi’s goals – 303 to be exact – with the Santiago Bernabeu and Vicente Calderon (14) a distant second.

THE TROPHY CABINET

Messi has won eight league titles with Barca, while five Copas del Rey and seven Supercopa de Espana titles add to his enviable domestic haul.

His four European titles are only two short of the record held by Real Madrid great Francisco Gento and he has enjoyed further continental glory as part of the winning side in three UEFA Super Cups.

Messi also has a trio of Club World Cup titles to his name and his collection of individual honours – most notably his five Ballons d’Or – reflect his standing as one of the greatest of all time.

With Barca top of the league and already into the Champions League knockout stages, Messi – still only 30 – looks destined for further glory before calling time on his career.