Battle for Lionel Messi: Why every club in the world would want him - the Barcelona stats and pictures

Season by season, what the Argentine genius has brought to Barca

Lionel Messi is set to leave Barcelona after 20 years of winning silverware and setting records. Here are his stats, season by season.

2004/05 - Barcelona - La Liga: 7 apps; 1 goal. All competitions: 9 apps; 1 goal.

2005/06 - Barcelona - La Liga: 17 apps; 6 goals. All competitions: 26 apps; 8 goals. Trophies: La Liga, Champions League.

2006/07 - Barcelona - La Liga: 26 apps; 14 goals. All competitions: 36 apps; 17 goals. Trophies: Spanish Super Cup.

2007/08 - Barcelona - La Liga: 28 apps; 10 goals. All competitions: 40 apps; 16 goals. Trophies 0.

2008/09 - Barcelona - La Liga: 31 apps; 23 goals. All competitions: 51 apps; 38 goals. Trophies: La Liga, Copa del Rey, Uefa Champions League.

2009/10 - Barcelona - La Liga: 35 apps; 34 goals - top scorer. All competitions: 53 apps; 47 goals. Trophies: Spanish Super Cup, Uefa Super Cup, Fifa Club World Cup, Ballon d'Or, La Liga.

2010/11 - Barcelona - La Liga: 33 apps; 31 goals. All competitions: 55 apps; 53 goals. Trophies: Spanish Super Cup, Ballon d'Or, La Liga, Uefa Champions League.

2011/12 - Barcelona - La Liga: 37 apps; 50 goals - top scorer. All competitions: 60 apps; 73 goals. Trophies: Spanish Super Cup, Fifa Club World Cup, Ballon d'Or, Copa del Rey.

2012/13 - Barcelona - La Liga: 32 apps; 46 goals - top scorer. All competitions: 50 apps; 60 goals. Trophies: La Liga.

2013/14 - La Liga: 31 apps; 28 goals - top scorer. All competitions: 46 apps; 41 goals. Trophies: Spanish Super Cup.

2014/15 - Barcelona - La Liga: 38 apps; 43 goals. All competitions: 57 apps; 58 goals. Trophies: Copa del Rey, La Liga, Uefa Champions League.

2015/16 - Barcelona - La Liga: 33 apps; 26 goals. All competitions: 49 apps; 41 goals. Trophies: Uefa Super Cup, Fifa Club World Cup, Ballon d'Or, Copa del Rey, La Liga.

2016/17 - Barcelona - La Liga: 34 apps; 37 goals - top scorer. All competitions: 52 apps; 54 goals. Trophies: Spanish Super Cup, Copa del Rey.

2017/18 - Barcelona - La Liga: 36 apps; 34 goals - top scorer. All competitions: 54 apps; 45 goals. Trophies: Copa del Rey, La Liga.

2018/19 - Barcelona - La Liga: 34 apps; 36 goals - top scorer. All competitions: 50 apps; 51 goals. Trophies: Spanish Super Cup, La Liga

2019/20 - Barcelona - La Liga: 33 apps; 25 goals - top scorer. All competitions: 44 apps; 31 goals.

2020/21 - Barcelona - La Liga 35 appearances, 30 goals - top scorer. All competitions: 47 apps, 38 goals. Trophy: Copa del Rey

Lionel Messi's shock announcement that he wants to leave Barcelona looks like the opening salvo in negotiations around the fine details of his contract and the all-important get-out clause.

The 33-year-old Argentine has announced his wish to leave the club whose academy he joined at the age of 13, beginning a glittering career which has soured over the past 12 months under the management of president Josep Maria Bartomeu.

If Messi does leave - and that is far from certain - there is not a club on the planet that wouldn't want him in their side.

Every season his stats have proved what a great player he is, as the gallery above shows.

In total, he has played 731 times for Barcelona, scoring an incredible 634 goals and contributing 285 assists.

Above is a picture gallery of his amazing record. To move through the seasons, simply swipe or click on the arrows.