Forget Pele, Maradona & Di Stefano - Messi is the greatest club player of all time

The Argentine has won the Goal 50 for a record fourth time after a season in which he took his game - and Barcelona - to new heights. No player has achieved more in club football

Behind every era-defining team is an all-time great player. Real Madrid had Alfredo Di Stefano in the 1950s and 1960s, Santos had Pele, Ajax had Johan Cruyff, Napoli had Diego Maradona and Barcelona have Lionel Messi.

On Friday, Messi became the first footballer to win the Goal 50 for the fourth time. He is already the only person to claim four Ballons d'Or, with a fifth surely on the way in January. The individual honours keep coming - even though he insists that he would rather claim major trophies for club and country.

"I always say that, for me, the most important awards are the collective ones," Messi told Goal upon receiving the 2015 Goal 50 trophy.

"But I am also happy when I receive individual awards like this one. I am very grateful for this. Thank you. It was a very complete year."

At international level, silverware has remained elusive. Messi missed out on a World Cup winners' medal as Argentina lost to Germany in the final of Brazil 2014 and was on the losing side again as the Albiceleste went down to Chile in the Copa America showpiece in July this year. He has won an Olympic gold medal with the Under-23 team and also an U-20 World Cup for Argentina, but remains empty-handed with the senior side.

That is in stark contrast with his remarkable record at club level. The undisputed leader on the pitch ever since Ronaldinho left and Pep Guardiola took over as coach in 2008-09, Messi has helped Barcelona to seven Liga titles and four Champions League crowns in that time. In total, he has already won 25 trophies for the Catalans and has been the team's all-time top scorer since 2012.



Much of Barca's stunning success since 2008 would not have been possible without him. Even Guardiola admitted as much. "Without him, we would have been competitive," Pep once said. "But without Leo, we wouldn't have won all that we have."

Luis Enrique could well say something similar. His side struggled in the first half of 2014-15 and really got going in January as Messi moved back out to the right and everything clicked into place. The Argentine produced a masterclass in the Champions League home and away against Manchester City, but saved his breathtaking best for the visit of Guardiola and Bayern Munich to Camp Nou in the semi-finals.

After breaking Bayern's resistance on 76 minutes with a fizzing low drive into the bottom corner, the Argentine followed up with a wonderful second as he left Jerome Boateng in a heap on the turf with some sublime skill, before chipping Manuel Neuer from a tight angle. He then set Neymar on his way for 3-0 and the tie was over there and then.

"When he plays like this, there is no defence that can stop him," Guardiola had said before the match. "It's impossible. He is used to players defending against him any way they can and he always ends up enjoying success. He is too good."

Astonishingly, he showed in 2014-15 that he is still getting better in an age where winning is harder than it has ever been. Asked about the Argentine and Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo recently, Luis Enrique said: "I don't like to compare players, but for me Messi is the best player in the world and also the best player in history. That's my opinion."

Football is full of opinions of course and many still believe either Pele or Maradona to have been superior due to their achievements in winning World Cups - something Messi has still been unable to do. 

In terms of club football, however, Pele played only in Brazil and the United States while Maradona's success at Napoli lasted for just a few seasons - yielding five trophies between 1987 and 1990.

Cruyff led Ajax to six Eredivisie titles and three European Cups in a glorious spell at the Amsterdam club before moving to Barcelona, while Di Stefano won even more at Madrid in the 1950s and 1960s: eight Liga titles and five European Cups. However, competition was less fierce than it is now and Real needed to beat only four teams to claim the continental crown back then. In those early years, many of today's elite clubs were still finding their feet.

For Messi to have won the trophy four times in this era is truly something special - especially as he has played a pivotal part in the last three of those. And he can carry on for several more seasons to come.

"He is the best there is in all aspects you look at," Luis Enrique said last year. "If he wanted to be, he would be the best at defending as well. He will be the best in the world for as long as he wants to be. He's waving his magic wand and he'll continue to do so for as long as he wants."







He is already well ahead of Maradona and Cruyff in terms of career goals - and closing in on Di Stefano too. And one more Champions League crown will see him match the achievements of the Real Madrid legend, who passed away last year.

Thanks to Messi, Barca enjoyed the greatest season in their history in 2014-15. So said Luis Enrique after they sealed the Champions League trophy in Berlin. And as so often before, none of it would have been possible without Messi. No player has achieved more in club football than the Argentine, with this latest Goal 50 award not only another trophy for his collection but also recognition for his continued greatness at Barcelona.

"Congratulations, Leo!" Cesc Fabregas told his friend in a video message sent via Goal. "I think he will be tired of winning so many awards because what he likes is playing football and enjoying himself. I send him a big hug, wish him many more trophies and hope he keeps entertaining us."

Messi will be happy with that. Playing football and winning trophies is indeed what he enjoys the most and with 25 titles to his name already at Barcelona, there is no sign of him losing his hunger any time soon. The legend of the greatest club player of all time goes on.