Argentine football star Lionel Messi is all set to receive Golden Boot after ending up as a top scorer in Europe last season ahead of his Portuguese counterpart Cristiano Ronaldo. Playing for Barcelona at the club level, forward Lionel Messi accepted the Golden Boot award, which he received already once in his career. This has been considered as a spectacular feat in itself while he collected the honour. In fact, he netted an astounding 50 goals during the Primera Division. Messi surpassed Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo as well by scoring four more than him. Messi’s performance during the La Liga playing for Barcelona has been equally outstanding as well though he is contemplating retirement from the club.
"This is a group prize," Messi said. "I always say that when an individual wins something like this.
"That's a fact, and this one more than any. It is a prize for scoring goals, but I'd never have done it without my team-mates."
Messi is regarded as one of the favorites in contention to walk away with laurels by winning the 2012 Ballon d'Or for the world's best player.
"We won't see another player like him, and if we do, it won't be for a very long time," said Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova.
"It's not just for the goals he scores, but for how he sees and understands the game, that is what makes him so great.”
"On Saturday, he ran 50 meters to defend a corner in the 89th minute with a 5-0 lead. Not many players would have done that."
Messi, nicknamed "The Flea" for his incredible trait to dribble past defenders, has broken a number of records from the past one year.
During his previous encounters, he scored at an unprecedented level with 73 goals in his kitty already by competing for Barcelona during the last season. In the process, he broke the previous European club record of 67 goals too, which was set by Bayern Munich's Gerd Mueller back in 1972-73.
It was in March, that the Argentine passed Cesar Rodriguez's 57-year-old milestone of 232 goals in order to become Barca's all-time leading scorer. It just doesn’t ends there as he also scored a European Cup record-equalling 14 goals during the Champions League by getting the ball into the nets a record five goals in one game.
As far as the current season is considered, Messi scored at a scintillating rate with 17 goals ahead of any other player. He is now in sight another record, which he might achieve as well considering the kind of form in which he is now. He is just two goals shy from leveling Pele's feat of 75 goals for club and country in one calendar year, which was set in 1958.
"Obviously, it's an honor to be close to the numbers of a person who is so important to football," Messi said. "But, again, they are only statistics.
"My goal is to win as many titles as I can before the end of my career. I have always been like that. Then I can look back at what I have won and take stock of my career."
