Barcelona’s Champions League tie against Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday will witness talisman Lionel Messi donning the Blaugrana jersey for the 700th time.
This will make the Argentine the second player to reach the 700-game mark for the club, following Xavi Hernandez, who appeared in Barca shirt for a record 767 times. However, Messi is likely to break the record as he has a contract to remain at the Camp Nou until 2021.
This is Messi’s 16th season in the first team following his debut under Frank Rijkaard in the 2004-05 season. The 32-year-old averages 44 games per season and more than 38 goals per season. He has won 34 trophies — including 10 league titles.
Notably, Messi made a comeback from injury against Lucien Favre’s side earlier in the group stages, replacing the record-breaking Ansu Fati, who made his European bow at the age of just 16 years and 321 days in the match and became Barca’s youngest player ever to feature in the Champions League in doing so.
Ernesto Valverde’s team have scored a total of 31 goals at home this season in all competitions, making it the most difficult of stadiums for defenders. Despite Messi’s injuries at the start of the season, he has netted almost 20% of the total with six goals at Camp Nou.