Endless trophies and individual crowns claimed, countless goalscoring records smashed to smithereens.
He has rewritten the history books. When he hangs up his boots the game will be left with two distinct eras: Pre- and post-Lionel Messi.
But there’s one that has thus got away. For all the Champions Leagues and Ballon d’Ors, the Barcelona superstar is yet to achieve glory with his country.
On Sunday he will lead Argentina into a major final for the third time in three years desperate to make it third time lucky.
And Argentinian nationals have snapped up 42% of tickets for their Copa America final showdown with Chile on Sunday in the hope of seeing him make yet more history.
So desperate are some to be present at MetLife Stadium that one punter shelled out a whopping $1,813 for a seat in New Jersey, according to Ticketbis sales data.
With the average price of a ticket now sitting at $718, final sales have seen MetLife emerge as the most expensive venue of Copa America Centenario, with the overall average price coming in at $474.
The next most expensive is Soccer Field in Chicago, where the average price of a ticket rounded off at $326.
Ahead of the final, the average price of tickets for the tournament overall currently sits at $296.99.
- Goal