Lionel Messi loses ownership of assists record he’s proudly held for 10 years

The amazing record set by Lionel Messi at Barcelona and held for 10 years has now been broken, and it can still be added to further before the end of the calendar year

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Lionel Messi wins record seventh Ballon d’Or: Darren Wells reports

Lionel Messi has been used to setting incredible records across the course of his glamorous career, but it’s not often that the Argentinian sees his accomplishments surpassed.

The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner holds some amazing records such as most goals in La Liga (474), a La Liga and European league season (50), most hat-tricks in La Liga (36) and the UEFA Champions League (8), and most assists in La Liga (192), but one record has now been beaten.

The Argentinian has endured a rather inconsistent spell at Paris Saint Germain so far this season, and much of his success has come in the Champions League for his new side.

To make matters worse for Messi, the assist record he set at his former side Barcelona has now been surpassed.

One of Messi’s greatest ever years fell exactly a decade ago, as the Argentinian notched 36 assists in 2011, and unsurprisingly he picked up the Ballon d’Or award that year for his efforts.

Messi also managed an incredible 73 goals in 60 games across the 2011/12 season for Barcelona, as the iconic star proved to the world that he should be considered amongst the greatest of all time.

36 assists appeared to be a record that may never be broken without a serious haul, but that moment has now come as Dusan Tadic recorded his 37th assist of the calendar year in a 2-1 defeat to AZ Alkmaar.

The Serbian play maker has been instrumental to Ajax’s success since leaving Southampton in 2018, and the former Premier League midfielder has reached new heights in the Netherlands.

The 33-year-old helped Ajax to the Eredivisie title last season, and the Dutch giants achieved the league and cup double, and things got even better for Tadic as he was part of a Serbia side that shocked Portugal to qualify for the World Cup.

To top everything off for Tadic, he has now surpassed Messi’s record and now leads the charts for the most assists in a calendar year, and the midfielder can add to that statistic further.

Ajax still face Feyenoord and Fortuna Sittard before the end of the year, meaning that Tadic could improve on his tally of 37 and make his accomplishment even more difficult to beat in the future.

With so many records to his name, Messi can probably still sleep at night feeling proud of what he has achieved, but the competitor in him will still be slightly upset that his total is now second on the all time list.

The current Ballon d’Or champion has already managed nine assists with PSG since moving for free in the summer, including a hat-trick of them during a 3-1 win against Saint Etienne.

It would take an almighty effort to climb above Tadic once more, but the Argentinian will certainly be looking to do his best in 2022, and take back his crown.