Congratulations, legend! 20 years have passed since Leo Messi's historic debut with FC Barcelona

For FC Barcelona and for fans of the culé team, October 16 is undoubtedly a date marked on their calendars. Why? About 20 years ago, specifically on October 16, 2004, probably one of the best footballers, if not the best footballer in the history of Barça, made his official debut with the blue and maroon team: Lionel Andrés Messi.

🥹 Today marks 20 years since Messi's debut with Barça.

Join us on this journey through the best matches of the Argentine wearing the blue and maroon 🧵 pic.twitter.com/3GsjZVdWRs

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_es) October 16, 2024

That day, at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, the current home of Barcelona, it was witnessed how, in the 82nd minute of the match between RCD Espanyol and the blue and maroon team in a game corresponding to matchday 7 of LaLiga 2004-05, Lionel Andrés Messi entered the game. At that time, the coach of the Barcelona team, Frank Rijkaard, took the opportunity to bring in the Argentine to replace the top scorer of that match, who currently serves as the sporting director of the culé club, Deco.

That was the beginning of a memorable trajectory for Leo Messi as a player of FC Barcelona. A career in which he played a total of 778 official matches, being the player with the most matches played for Barça in the club's history. He also scored a total of 672 goals, being the top scorer in the history of the Catalan team, surpassing by a large margin his closest competitor, César Rodríguez (226), and provided 303 assists, a record in which he is also the absolute leader of the Barcelona entity, surpassing another legend of the institution like Xavi Hernández (184).

Leo Messi's historic record as a player of FC Barcelona

In terms of titles, Leo Messi has achieved an impeccable history. During his time at the club, which ended somewhat tragically on May 16, 2021, the Argentine won four UEFA Champions League titles, 10 La Liga titles, nine Copa del Rey trophies, eight Spanish Super Cups, three UEFA Super Cups, and three FIFA Club World Cups. Additionally, during his time as a culé, he won numerous individual awards, including six out of his eight Ballon d'Or awards, leaving a truly indelible legacy as one of the great legends of Barcelona.

A legend who unfortunately departed from Barcelona in a rather regrettable manner, even though it seemed like he still had a lot of football to give in the blue and maroon jersey. Even today, it's not surprising that, despite being 37 years old, the Rosario native continues to deliver stellar performances both with the Argentine national team and with Inter Miami in the United States, even becoming the footballer with the most titles in the history of football.