Lionel Messi’s 21-Year International Career: 15 Super-Duper Numbers and His Comparison with Ronaldo
Buenos Aires (Argentina): Argentine football superstar Lionel Messi, 39, brought the curtain down on his 21-year international career on Monday, sparking a wave of fascinating statistics from his glittering career across social media. The highlights include his crowning achievement — the 2022 FIFA World Cup triumph in Qatar. Messi will continue playing professional football, which is certainly good news for his millions of fans around the world.
Messi’s Magical Numbers and Comparison with Ronaldo
(1) Under Lionel Messi’s leadership, Argentina won the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in 2022. In addition, Argentina reached the final twice — in 2014 and 2026. Argentina lost those two finals to Germany and Spain respectively.
(2) Under Messi’s leadership, Argentina also won the Copa América titles in 2021 and 2024. His arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo, on the other hand, has led Portugal to just one major trophy — Euro 2016.
(3) Messi has played in a record six FIFA World Cup tournaments. He made his World Cup debut in 2006 and subsequently featured in the 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 and 2026 editions.
(4) Messi scored 21 goals across his six World Cup appearances and is second on the all-time World Cup scoring list, behind France’s Kylian Mbappé, who has scored 22 goals in three World Cup tournaments.
(5) Messi made his international debut for Argentina in 2005 at the age of 18. The match was against Hungary. He spent barely a minute on the pitch because soon after coming on, he elbowed a Hungarian player, prompting the referee to show him a red card and send him off.
(6) Messi has scored a total of 125 international goals, twice as many as any other Argentine player. Gabriel Batistuta is second on Argentina’s all-time list, having scored 54 goals in 78 appearances between 1991 and 2002.
(7) Of Messi’s 125 international goals, 25 have come from the penalty spot. Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 23 of his record 146 international goals from penalties.
(8) Messi, with 125 international goals, is second on the all-time list of highest international scorers, behind Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, who has 146. India’s Sunil Chhetri is fourth on the list with 95 goals, while Iran’s Ali Daei is third with 108.
(9) Messi provided a total of 60 assists in his international career, setting up teammates for goals on 60 occasions.
(10) Messi played 207 international matches during his 21-year international career, placing him second behind Cristiano Ronaldo, who has made 233 international appearances.
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(11) Messi holds the world record for the most World Cup appearances, having played 34 matches across his six tournaments. He won 23 of those matches.
(12) Messi became the oldest player to feature at a FIFA World Cup. When he played at the 2026 World Cup, he was 39 years and 25 days old.
(13) Messi scored 11 international hat-tricks in total, with his most recent hat-trick coming at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
(14) Messi wore the No. 18 jersey during his first year with the Argentina senior team in 2005.
(15) For most of his international career, Messi has dominated the football field wearing the iconic No. 10 jersey.