Barcelona thanks its lucky protagonists that Lionel Messi is still in his books this season.
It was the first time the six-time Golden Ball winner will turn his back on Camp Nou this summer, but the Blaugrana have retained their star for at least another year.
Monday marked the first time Messi returned to Barcelona education after making a dramatic announcement last week that he needed to sue his beloved club.
Messi has maintained his complaint from President Josep Maria Bartomeu, so everything is sunny or rainbow, although he necessarily acknowledges his defeat in a debate around his termination clause.
No doubt Manchester City will wait for the scenes next summer if Barcelona couldn’t twist their arm, but an extra season with Messi remains a big plus.
In addition, we talk about the club’s all-time goal scorer record with 634 amazing moves and Xavi prevents his 731 appearances in Catalonia from reaching the record books.
But one of the most impressive statistics on Messi’s career stood out through Transfermarkt this week and considers his trophy harvest.
This is because the respected online knowledge page compiled a list of the top decorated footballers of the 21st century and that Messi came here with 4 victory trophies, eventually finishing third.
This is a rather unexpected achievement, especially since Messi is a club player, but the attractive data is no more sensitive there because Transfermarkt has compiled the 50 most sensitive.
So, more preamble, be sure to see the two players who took Messi to the pole and the other footballers, known and unknown, who have sucked money since 2000.
50. Mario Mandzukic – 23 titles
49. David Alaba – 23 titles
48. Blaise Matuidi – 23 titles
47. Neymar – 24 titles
46. Julio Cesar – 24 titles
45. Mohammad Al-Shalhoub – 24 titles
44. James Rodriguez – 24 titles
43. Javier Mascherano – 24 titles
42. Victor Valdés – 24 titles
41. Yaroslav Rakitskiy – 24 titles
You will start to realize that Barcelona players are not an unusual theme on this list, so it is no wonder that lifelong servants such as Mascherano and Valdés appear here.
In the meantime, it’s amazing to think that Neymar is more than halfway to fit the ultimate decorated footballer in history at 28. . . and play for Paris Saint-Germain.
40. Manuel Neuer – 24 titles
39. Jerome Boateng – 24 titles
38. Deco – 25 titles
37. Edinson Cavani – 25 titles
36. Marquinhos – 25 titles
35. Luisao – 25 titles
34. Marco Verratti – 25 titles
33. Mark van Bommel – 25 titles
32. Thomas Muller – 25 titles
31. Franck Ribery – 25 titles
The mid-table segment is ruled by Bayern players, as their control of the Bundesliga is helping players such as Boateng, Neuer, Muller, Ribery and Van Bommel win a quarter of a century of titles.
Cavani joins the club with almost a decade sucking covered in the Parc des Princes, as does Verratti, while Benfica legend Luisao also makes an appearance for his good fortune in Portugal.
30. Iker Casillas – 25 titles
29. Gianluigi Buffon – 25 titles
28. Sergio Ramos – 26 titles
27. Carlos Tevez – 26 titles
26. Angel Di Maria – 26 titles
25. Pepe – 26 titles
24. Carles Puyol – 26 titles
23. Andriy Pyatov – 26 titles
22. Toni Kroos – 26 titles
21. Bastian Schweinsteiger – 26 titles
There’s nothing bigger than starting with two of the goalkeepers of all time at Buffon and Casillas, while iconic Puyol and Pepe power plants also make their way into the 30 most sensitive.
But he is another world-class central defender, Ramos, who ends up strangely away in qualifying despite winning four Champions League titles in just one decade with Real Madrid.
20. Thiago Motta – 27 titles
19. Fernandinho – 28 titles
18. Karim Benzema – 29 titles
17. Pedro – 29 titles
16. Darijo Srna – 29 titles
15. Emad Meteb – 30 titles
14. Thiago Silva – 30 titles
13. Thiago Alcantara – 31 titles
12. Wael Gomaa – 31 titles
11. Xavi – 32 titles
We are now entering God’s undisputed point of serial trophy winners and Fernandinho and Srna have the omnipotence of shakhtar Donetk in Ukraine to thank her for their position among her.
And if you’re wondering who Gomaa and Meteb are, let us illustrate that the mythical duo of Egyptian players made collecting cutlery with Al Ahly in their home country simple.
10. Zlatan Ibrahimovic – 33 titles
9. Sergio Busquets – 33 titles
8. Cristiano Ronaldo – 33 titles
7. Arjen Robben – 34 titles
6. Hossam Ashour – 34 titles
5. Gerard Piqué – 36 titles
4. Maxwell – 37 titles
3. Lionel Messi – 37 titles
2. Andrés Iniesta – 39 titles
1. Dani Alves – titles
Yes, you may have guessed, but Alves takes first place as the ultimate decorated footballer in history through spells loaded with titles with Barcelona, Juventus, PSG, Brazil and Seville.
His fellow legend, Iniesta, follows him with only two tackles, while Messi still has two gongs and his eternal rival, Ronaldo, is also making his way to the ten most sensible with more than 30 primaries.
So is it bad news in Barcelona this century?
Three consecutive seasons of Champions League duel have given Barca enthusiasts a more than enough explanation of why they feel a little discouraged, but the last 20 years have been kind enough for them.
He says a lot that the five sensitive highs played for Barcelona at some point in his careers, while 4 of the five practiced their industry in Catalonia for the most of their time in the European game.
And, of course, congratulations to players who, of course, have not won titles as prestigious as some of the gongs in Europe, but still deserve a compliment for having been so successful in their field.
In addition, it can only be good news if you percentageize a list with Messi and Alves and Iniesta are legends in their own right, we are not sure that they can be compared to the current pattern of Barca.