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Few players in any sport can claim to have been as dominant for one team as Lionel Messi with Barcelona.
The sight of the Argentinian maestro dominating in blue and red has become almost second nature.
It has been reported that is set to end, his next destination no more than speculation.
If he does leave, it will end a connection with the club stretching back to 2000.
His legacy is secure and he is now certainly in the conversation as football’s greatest ever.
The now 33›year›old made his first›team debut at 16 in 2003 and two years later scored his first goal.
Since then he has racked up 634 goals in 731 games for the Catalan club — in the 2011›12 season alone he scored 73 of those goals.
Through that period Barcelona has been one of football’s biggest powers.
But it is not just three or four good years that made Messi.
He has won the Ballon d’Or — Fifa’s world player of the year — six times and only missed the top three once since 2007.
His electric runs, unbelievable skill and uncanny ability to make things happen have made him not only one of the world’s best players, but also one of the most exciting.
To understand how long he has been that good, consider what else was happening when he scored his first goal.
Tana Umaga was the All Blacks captain and that year’s British and Irish Lions tour had not happened.
Michael Campbell had not yet won the US Open and Lance Armstrong had not won his seventh Tour de France title.
Usain Bolt was still three years away from becoming a household name — he has now been retired for three years.
Only a select few from any sport come close to matching his record over the same time — Roger Federer, Tom Brady, LeBron James, Lewis Hamilton and, of course, Messi’s great football rival Cristiano Ronaldo.
Of those, only Brady could claim to have been so good for one team for as long as Messi.
Sticking with one club for such a long time is becoming ever›rarer in the modern sporting landscape.
How many players in any sport can you think of that are still with the same team they signed for in 2000?
That appears set to come to an end.
But you cannot question Messi’s loyalty after that stretch.
Manchester City, Inter Milan and Paris Saint›Germain have all been mentioned as possible landing destinations for the star.
You know the class will still be evident wherever he ends up.
But it will certainly be strange seeing him in different colours.
Messi’s mastery at the Nou Camp
20 years at Barcelona
634 goals in 731 games
73 goals in 2011-12
Six Ballon d’Or trophies
Four Champions League titles
Six-time Champions League top-scorer
10 La Liga titles
Laureus World Sportsman of the Year (2020)