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Lionel Messi - Barcelona and Argentina
Is the 25-year-old the greatest player the world has seen?
Lionel Messi
Messi has already won the Ballon d'Or three times - 2009, 2010 and 2011 - and is odds-on favourite to become the first player to win the title a record fourth time.
The Argentine forward is arguably the best dribbler seen in football since compatriot Diego Maradona was at his peak in the 1980s.
But along with Messi's ability to evade and create comes his brilliant scoring record. And in 2012, the football world looked on in disbelief as he broke record after record.
In March, Messi became the first player to score five goals in a Champions League match as Barcelona defeated Bayer Leverkusen 7-1. A hat-trick against Granada, later that month, then saw him claim the club's all-time scoring record.
He scored 14 goals in the 2011-12 Champions League, breaking the record of 12 that he had previously shared with former Manchester United striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy.
In May, Messi broke former Bayern Munich striker Gerd Mueller's mark of 67 goals in a single European season, eventually finishing the 2011-12 campaign with 73.
Play media
And in December, the diminutive Argentina captain grabbed his 86th goal of 2012 to surpass Mueller's 40-year-old record of having scored the most goals - in domestic and international games combined - in a calendar year. Messi finished 2012 with 91 goals.
Former Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola: "We will not see another player like Messi."
Spain-based journalist Andy West: "Messi's statistics speak for themselves, but there's far more to his game than goal scoring. He's tremendously selfless - a real team player - and won't shoot if he can see a team-mate in a better position.
"Another of Messi's great qualities is his humility. When he scored the goal that took him past Gerd Mueller's calendar-year record at Betis in December, his spontaneous reaction was to run to Iniesta and thank him for the pass that created the chance. That speaks volumes about his mentality."
Lionel Messi - Barcelona and Argentina
Is the 25-year-old the greatest player the world has seen?
Lionel Messi
Messi has already won the Ballon d'Or three times - 2009, 2010 and 2011 - and is odds-on favourite to become the first player to win the title a record fourth time.
The Argentine forward is arguably the best dribbler seen in football since compatriot Diego Maradona was at his peak in the 1980s.
But along with Messi's ability to evade and create comes his brilliant scoring record. And in 2012, the football world looked on in disbelief as he broke record after record.
In March, Messi became the first player to score five goals in a Champions League match as Barcelona defeated Bayer Leverkusen 7-1. A hat-trick against Granada, later that month, then saw him claim the club's all-time scoring record.
He scored 14 goals in the 2011-12 Champions League, breaking the record of 12 that he had previously shared with former Manchester United striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy.
In May, Messi broke former Bayern Munich striker Gerd Mueller's mark of 67 goals in a single European season, eventually finishing the 2011-12 campaign with 73.
Play media
And in December, the diminutive Argentina captain grabbed his 86th goal of 2012 to surpass Mueller's 40-year-old record of having scored the most goals - in domestic and international games combined - in a calendar year. Messi finished 2012 with 91 goals.
Former Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola: "We will not see another player like Messi."
Spain-based journalist Andy West: "Messi's statistics speak for themselves, but there's far more to his game than goal scoring. He's tremendously selfless - a real team player - and won't shoot if he can see a team-mate in a better position.
"Another of Messi's great qualities is his humility. When he scored the goal that took him past Gerd Mueller's calendar-year record at Betis in December, his spontaneous reaction was to run to Iniesta and thank him for the pass that created the chance. That speaks volumes about his mentality."
