Lionel Messi has returned to training with Paris St Germain after winning the 2022 World Cup with Argentina.
Up to now, Messi’s career can be considered perfect from the club level to the national team. He completed his collection of prestigious titles such as the World Cup and Copa America in the Argentina shirt. During his club career, Messi also enjoyed the joy of the Champions League playground. There don’t seem to be any limits with El Pulga.
Messi, owner of 7 Golden Balls, has won 40 big and small titles in his career. However, up to now, there is still one title that El Pulga cannot touch.
It seems hard to believe, but there is only one major tournament that Messi has played in but not won, which is the Coupe de France. In fact, the 35-year-old has only made one appearance in the French National Cup, when PSG lost to Nice in the round of 16 last season.
Now, Messi and his teammates will have a chance to make amends, when PSG kicks off the 2022-2023 Coupe de France campaign. This is PSG’s favorite tournament, reaching the final in 8/12 recent participations. They also hold the record with 15 championships.
Let’s take a look back at the titles Messi has won in his illustrious career…
Argentina
Copa America 2021
Messi had to wait until he was 34 to win his first major international title, although he had previously won gold medals at the 2008 Olympics and the 2005 Under-20 World Cup.
When Argentina beat Brazil in the 2021 Copa America final, it was Messi’s 34th appearance in the tournament and three previous final defeats.
World Cup 2022
Messi has played 60 World Cup qualifiers and 25 finals – a record for a player. Eight years after the heartbreaking defeat to Germany in the 2014 World Cup final, Messi has completed his mission in Qatar.
Barcelona
La Liga (10 championships)
Messi played 520 matches in La Liga for Barcelona and scored 474 goals. After 17 seasons, Messi won 10 times and holds the record to this day. Additionally, El Pulga made 32 appearances for Barcelona’s B and C teams.
Copa del Rey (7 times won)
Messi also had success in the Copa del Rey with 56 goals in 80 matches. The most memorable was the masterpiece in the final of the 2014-2015 season against Athletic Bilbao. Messi won this title 7 times as a Barcelona player, including 4 consecutive times between 2014-2015 and 2017-2018.
Champions League (4 times champion)
Over 19 seasons, Messi appeared in 161 matches and scored 129 goals in the Champions League for Barcelona and PSG. Before moving to France, Messi won the Champions League four times with Blaugrana.
FIFA Club World Cup (3 times champion)
Messi played 5 matches, scored 5 goals and won the Club World Cup 3 times. This is an annual tournament organized by FIFA, bringing together the defending champions of 6 continental federations along with the national champion of the host country.
Paris St Germain
Ligue 1 (1 time champion)
After 9 months of waiting, Messi won the Ligue 1 championship in his first season at PSG. El Pulga appeared 26 times, contributing 6 goals and 15 assists. Entering this season, Messi showed more convincing performance with 7 goals and 10 assists in 17 matches.
