Messi overtakes Xavi to become the player with most victories at Barcelona - 477
Sunday's 1-4 win at Betis was the Argentinean's 477th victory for Barcelona. He also drew level with Andrés Iniesta in the number of club appearances.
As far as weekends go, this one just gone was a highly productive one for Leo Messi who added another two registries to his curriculum. Against Betis, he became the player to have experienced the the most victories in club history at FC Barcelona with a total 477 wins in official competition, overtaking the 476 wins gained by the previous record holder, Xavi Hernández. And he also drew level with Andrés Iniesta to become the second player in Barça history to have made the most appearances - 674. Now, only Xavi has played more games than he has at Barcelona - the midfielder played a total of 767 games during his career.
Messi chasing football's long-standing records
His three-goal haul this weekend also pulls him closer to another major record - one held by Edson Arantes do Nascimiento, Pelé. The Brazilian legend still holds the record as the player to have scored the most goals with the same club. His record stands at 643 goals for Santos while Messi, after his latest hat trick, is now on 591 goals for Barça. Messi is just over 50 goals from equalling, and eventually overtaking Pelé's club tally.
Bearing in mind that Messi usually averages around 60 seasons per season (in all competitions), he may well be on course to break Pelé's record by the end of next season. When he do so, he will rewrite the history books yet again - to claim a record which many thought would never be broken.