Lionel Messi's farewell to the Argentina national team marks the end of the most magnificent era in the history of South American football. The statistics from the past two decades show something astonishing - Messi didn't just improve Argentina's records, he literally rewrote the definition of success for the "albiceleste".
Before Leo's arrival, Argentina's records were held by some of the greatest players in the history of football. However, Messi left them all far behind:
Top scorer: the previous record was held by the legendary Gabriel Batistuta with 56 goals. Messi raised the bar to a whopping 126 goals.
Most appearances: Javier Zanetti led the list with 145 matches. Messi leaves as the absolute record holder with 207 matches with the national team.
Most assists: The late Diego Maradona was the leader in this indicator with 26 assists. Messi ends his international career with almost three times as many - a record 70 assists.
Most wins: The previous leader Javier Mascherano had 84 victories with the team. With Messi in his squad, Argentina has won a total of 149 matches.
Leo Messi's greatest legacy is the piles of showcases that he filled with gold. Before his era, Argentina had a total of 19 official titles. Messi leaves the nation with 23 official trophies, adding exactly 4 new cups to the country's history.
World Cups: Argentina had 2 titles (1978 and 1986). With Messi, they now have 3.
Copa America: the country had 14 titles in the tournament. Thanks to the golden generation led by Leo, they now have 16.