Barcelona legend Lionel Messi finished as La Liga’s top scorer once again after amassing 30 goals in the 2020-21 season. He topped the scoring charts ahead of Karim Benzema and Gerard Moreno (23 goals each).
The Barcelona skipper didn’t feature on Saturday against Eibar but had already done enough to land the Pichichi for the eighth time in his glittering career. It’s also the fifth season in a row the Argentine has finished top of the pile.
It’s another superb achievement by Messi who scored 30 goals and contributed 9 assists in 35 La Liga games for Barcelona under Ronald Koeman.
The Argentine has long made it clear he’s not too interested in individual awards but it’s still yet another special record to add to his collection. Messi moved past Telmo Zarro and out on his own last season when he claimed the Pichichi Trophy for the seventh time and has now put more distance between himself and the Athletic legend.
Messi has won the most number of Pichichi trophies in La Liga history (8). Messi won the first of his eight Pichichi awards in the 2009-10 season, clinching the top honor again in 2011-12, 2012-13, 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2020-21.
Messi is the first player in La Liga history to be crowned top scorer in five consecutive seasons. He surpassed Alfredo Di Stefano and Hugo Sanchez (both four).
Lionel Messi has joined Jean-Pierre Papin as the only player with five consecutive top scorer trophies in Europe’s top five leagues. Papin won his from 1987-88 to 1991-92 with Marseille.
