(Reuters) – The following is a look at Argentina captain Lionel Messi’s career by the numbers:
499 million: Global followers on social media platforms Facebook and Instagram (over 10 times the population of Argentina)
$120 million: Messi’s estimated earnings for the 2022-23 season before taxes and agents’ fees, according to Forbes.
$26.60 million: Messi’s estimated transfer value, according to Swiss research group CIES Football Observatory.
2,194: Minutes played in the World Cup. Only Paolo Maldini of Italy has played more (2,217)
853: Club matches for Barcelona B, Barcelona, and Paris St Germain
701: Club goals for Barcelona B, Barcelona, and Paris St Germain
171: International caps
96: International goals
37: Club trophies won
35: Age
25: Matches played at the World Cup (joint record with Lothar Matthaeus)
18: Appearances as captain in the World Cup — a record
16: World Cup match victories (Miroslav Klose has 17)
16 years: The gap between his first and latest World Cup goals
10: Player of the match awards (first given in 2002)
11: World Cup goals (Argentine record)
7: Ballons d’Or
6: Men to have played in five World Cups Messi, Matthaeus, Antonio Carbajal, Rafa Marquez, Andres Guardado and Cristiano Ronaldo)
6: Assists in the knockout phase of World Cups
5: World Cups played in and assisted in
2: World Cup finals
1: Copa America trophy
0: World Cup winners’ medals
(Compiled by Aadi Nair and Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Davis)
