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Barcelona Have Surpassed Real Madrid In Their Trophy Haul Thanks To Lionel Messi’s Exploits

Barcelona Have Surpassed Real Madrid In Their Trophy Haul Thanks To Lionel Messi’s Exploits

Barcelona captain and talisman Lionel Messi has been crucial in helping his side move ahead of Real Madrid in terms of collecting trophies.

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz

Lionel Messi has well and truly turned Barcelona's fortunes around when it comes to rivalling Real Madrid in winning trophies.

Okay, almost every football fan is well aware of the influence that the 31-year-old Argentine forward wields at his disposal, but it cannot be underestimated how much he has changed the balance between the two Spanish clubs.

Case in point: Twitter user Mister Chip posted an interesting stat about the Barcelona captain.

Before Messi made his senior debut for the La Liga champions back in 2004, Los Blancos had an 11-trophy lead over Barça.

With Madrid holding 72 to their name and Barcelona coming in at 61, it would take a lot of work to catch up to that, right?

Well, that's where Messi enters the conversation.

Fast-forward fifteen years after his club debut and Barcelona have moved ahead of Madrid in the trophy haul, holding a 95 to 92 lead over them.

With Cristiano Ronaldo's exit from Los Blancos last summer, Madrid have had three managers -- Julen Lopetegui, Santiago Solari and the return of Zinedine Zidane -- and have ended their season trophyless.

Speaking of Ronaldo, Messi's stats have shown how much he has outperformed his fellow five-time Ballon d'Or winner in the last decade.

Barcelona, on the other hand, secured the La Liga title on the weekend with a 1-0 victory over Levante, with Messi coming off the bench to score the winner.

Ernesto Valverde's men are still in contention of winning a treble this season, with Barcelona set to host Liverpool at the Camp Nou on Wednesday for their first-leg Champions League semi-final clash.

Towards the end of May, Barça will face Valencia in the Copa del Rey final.

Will Barcelona secure a treble this season?

Let us know in the comments.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Los Blancos, Football News, Football, Barcelona, Lionel Messi, Madrid, Spain, Ernesto Valverde, Real Madrid, La Liga, Barca, Camp Nou