Top 5 goals scored by Barcelona's Lionel Messi in finals
With 672 goals and 305 assists in 778 appearances for Barcelona, Lionel Messi has transcended the standards set in the footballing world to judge a player's impact on this beautiful game.
While several pages would be needed to list his statistical accolades, an entire novel might not be sufficient if the technical aspect of his game is also taken into account.
The sheer consistency displayed by the diminutive Argentinian remains unparalleled to this date.
While Cristiano Ronaldo has proven to be the only competition for 'La Pulga' in a pure goalscoring sense, Messi comfortably steers ahead of his Portuguese counterpart in terms of overall gameplay and effectiveness.
Lionel Messi, Barcelona, and Titles
In his 17-year senior career at the Camp Nou so far, Lionel Messi has accumulated a total of 35 club trophies.
That is enough to land him in second place on the list of the 'most decorated players in football,' just a couple of titles behind Dani Alves, his former Barcelona teammate.
A detailed list of individual honors would trap us on the internet for the rest of eternity.
Despite all the rumors surrounding Lionel Messi's future, Barcelona are favorites to keep hold of the six-time Ballon d'Or winner.
Having had his differences with the club, Messi was ready to end their 21-year-old love affair in 2020. However, the recent appointment of fan-favorite Joan Laporta as president of the club renewed his faith in the Barcelona project.
What still hasn't been renewed is Messi's contract with his boyhood club. But reports suggest that that shouldn't take long.
Without further ado, let's take a look at five of the 31 goals scored by Lionel Messi in the finals of several club competitions he partook in that changed football forever.
#5 UEFA Champions League final against Manchester United, 2011
Kicking off the list in fifth place is Lionel Messi's deadlock-breaking goal against Manchester United in the 2011 Champions League final.
With Sir Alex Ferguson leading the English champions and Pep Guardiola at Barcelona's helm, both teams were level on paper.
Pedro scored the first goal of the game, giving his side the lead in the 27th minute. However, a powerful strike by Wayne Rooney minutes later proved to be the equalizer.
With the game tied at half-time, a moment of brilliance from Lionel Messi in the second half was all that Barcelona needed to get into the driver's seat. Finding little space outside the box, Messi fired in a surprise shot, unsettling Edwin van der Sar, thereby tilting the game in Barca's favor.
Just 15 minutes later, David Villa curled in a superb strike into the top corner, sealing the game for the Blaugrana.
Barcelona won their fourth Champions League title, and Messi was awarded the UEFA Man of the Match award for his stupendous performance, topped off with a decisive 54th-minute goal against the Red Devils.
#4 UEFA Super Cup against Sevilla, 2015
One of the most bizarre cup finals ever, the 2015 UEFA Super Cup between Champions League holders Barcelona and Europa League winners Sevilla was filled with drama.
The all-Spanish affair witnessed three tremendous free-kicks from both teams in the span of just 16 minutes.
Ever Banega opened the scoring for the Andalusian side in the third minute, with a sublime finish against Marc-Andre ter Stegen. Nevertheless, Lionel Messi replied in style, scoring twice from outside the box in under eight minutes to restore the lead for Barcelona.
Even though his first strike was special in its own manner, the dead-ball specialist brought his A-game for the second opportunity.
With almost double the distance from the previous free-kick, Messi doubled down on the precision, crashing the ball onto the right post and in, giving Beto no chance of saving it.
The first 90 minutes ended with both teams tied at 4-4. A dramatic goal from Pedro with just five minutes remaining on the clock was all that Barcelona needed to win their fifth title of the year.