KEY POINTS

  • Messi won 35 titles at FC Barcelona, one less than Ryan Giggs
  • Messi has joined PSG on a two-year deal
  • He made his senior debut at Barcelona in 2004

Lionel Messi, who recently ended his 21-year-old association with FC Barcelona, missed out on an elite record that still belongs to Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs.

Messi made his first-team debut with Barcelona in 2004 and over the years, the star forward scripted several records and helped his side win many trophies, including 10 La Liga titles and four Champions League trophies.

However, there are a few records that Messi failed to break and is not likely to ever achieve.

In the list of most trophies won for a single club, former Manchester United midfielder Giggs is at the top. Having represented only one club in his senior career, Giggs won as many as 36 trophies during his 24-year-old stay at Old Trafford. Whereas, Messi missed out on equaling the record as he fell short of one trophy. The Argentinian has parted ways with Barcelona with 35 trophies on his cabinet.

Messi's former Barcelona teammates Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, and Gerard Pique complete the top five of the list of players with the most number of trophies won for a single club. Xavi, who spent 17 years at Barcelona and also played alongside Messi, won 33 trophies with the Catalans, three more than Iniesta and Pique.

Messi left Barcelona as the club's second-most capped player in the UEFA Champions League. He made 149 appearances in the European tournament for the Catalans, while his former captain Xavi had made 151.

Lionel Messi is leaving Barcelona
Lionel Messi is leaving Barcelona AFP / JORGE GUERRERO

Messi has departed from Spain with joint-second most La Liga titles – 10 alongside former Real Madrid midfielder Pirri. But the record of most Spanish league titles belongs to Paco Gento, who won 12 La Liga titles for the Santiago Bernabeu side between 1953 and 1971.

The 34-year-old legendary forward has signed a two-year deal with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), the Ligue 1 club announced Tuesday. The deal also has an option to extend by a year.

"I am impatient to start a new chapter of my career in Paris. The club and its vision are in perfect harmony with my ambitions. I know how talented the players and staff are here. I am determined to build, alongside them, something great for the club and for the fans. I can't wait to set foot on the Parc des Princes pitch," Messi told PSG's official website after signing the contract.

Messi, who is set to begin a new life in Paris, failed to sign an extension with Barcelona this summer as the club could not afford its best player under the La Liga's financial fair play rules.