Lionel Andrés Messi is the latest addition to the 300-goals-for-one-club clique, having scored his 300th goal with Barcelona in a La Liga match against Granada on February 16, 2013. That he appears at the top of this list is a testament to how football as a sport is richer than ever. In fact, in December 2012, Barcelona announced that Messi would sign a five-year contract extension that would keep him with the club until 2018 and raise his base salary to $21.2 million. That deal made him the highest on-the-pitch earner in football.
There is, however, good reason why the Argentine footballer is being paid such hefty amounts in salaries and endorsements: Messi is the first player to have received the Ballon d’Or four times, the superstar even doing so in consecutive years from 2009 to 2012. Furthermore, he also has to his credit six La Ligas, two Copas del Rey, five Supercopas de España, three UEFA Champions League trophies, two UEFA Super Cups and two Club World Cups.
In fact, because of these outstanding accomplishments, some commentators, coaches, and players have hailed Messi as not only “the best player in the world today” but even “the greatest footballer of all time”. The next couple of years will likely determine whether or not Messi will be able to live up to such stout billings.
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