Lionel Messi becomes the most decorated footballer of all time after lifting first trophy with Inter Miami
Just over eight months after leading Argentina to FIFA World Cup glory in Qatar, Lionel Messi has clinched another record that adds to his case for being the greatest footballer of all time. With Inter Miami winning their first-ever title in form of the Leagues Cup against Nashville on Sunday morning, Messi now has 44 team trophies to his name, more than any other professional footballer.
Having won Ligue 1 with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) earlier this summer, Messi was tied with former Barcelona teammate Dani Alves on 43 trophies for the past few months, but now stands alone as the most decorated footballer of all time. This is in addition to his seven Ballons d’Or and six FIFA Player of the Year/The Best awards, both of which are also records when it comes to individual laurels.
With 10 goals in his first seven games for Miami (all of which have been in the Leagues Cup), Messi has made a fairytale beginning to life in the US. Taking a team that is bottom of the Eastern Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS) to a cup final and winning it on penalties will rank among Messi’s finest achievements in recent years, even if the standard of football is not quite what he was used to in Europe. In doing so, Messi was also named as the best player of the Leagues Cup, something he has accomplished (at least once) in every tournament he has finished as champion.
Out of Messi’s 44 titles, 39 have come at club level. Unsurprisingly, the bulk of those were won in Barcelona, where Messi spent 17 years playing at the highest level. Twelve of Messi’s team honours are league titles (10 with Barcelona, two with PSG), four are UEFA Champions Leagues (all with Barcelona), and 17 are domestic cups (15 with Barcelona, one each with PSG and Inter Miami), while the rest include the UEFA Super Cup (thrice) and the FIFA Club World Cup (thrice). With Argentina, Messi has triumphed in the 2005 U-17 World Cup, the 2008 Olympic Games, the 2021 Copa America, the 2022 Finalissima and, most memorably, in last year’s World Cup final against France, which finally allowed him to match his compatriot, Diego Maradona, and become an immortal in the hearts of all Argentines.
