7 of the wildest Lionel Messi records that Raphinha can (try) break in 2026-27

Lionel Messi holds a frankly ridiculous number of records at Barcelona, and Raphinha has started 2026-27 in a manner that makes some of them look (slightly) less untouchable.

The Brazil international has scored in every appearance so far, with eight goals in five games, and is thriving at No.9 after Barcelona lost Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres and failed to land Julian Alvarez in the summer.

We’ve rounded up seven ridiculous Messi records that Raphinha can try break after his stonking start to 2026-27.

Longest scoring streak in a league campaign

Messi more than doubled the best-ever scoring streak set in La Liga by Ronaldo Nazario back in 1996-97 (10) when he scored in 21 consecutive outings in the 2012-13 season.

Unbelievably, that run included the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner scoring against all 19 other clubs in La Liga. No one in European football history has ever even gotten close.

Just the 18 more matches to go for Raphinha.

Most goals for Barcelona in a Champions League campaign

Here’s an achievable one.

This is a Barcelona-specific record, rather than an outright one. Messi scored well over a hundred Champions League goals and stands second in the all-time rankings, but his best tally of 14 goals back in 2011-12 is only the joint seventh-best individual season.

Raphinha bagged a brace in Barca’s 2026-27 opener and has seven more league phase games (including Sabah, Galatasaray, Sporting and Como) before we even get to the knockouts.

Given the expanded format, we’d be amazed if Cristiano Ronaldo’s all-time record of 17 goals for Real Madrid in the 2016-17 doesn’t get broken in the coming years. Raphinha could be among the contenders.

Highest WhoScored rating for a league season

Messi averaged above an 8.00 average rating from WhoScored’s statistical algorithm for every season between 2009-10 and 2020-21. Twelve years of outrageousness.

To put that in context, only one player in the whole of La Liga – Lamine Yamal with 8.23 – managed that last season. And Yamal’s score was lower than Messi’s worst of the lot (8.34 in 2013-14).

Maintaining the standards to challenge Messi’s best-ever WhoScored average rating (8.88 in 2011-12) would be evidence of a remarkable individual campaign.

Raphinha, currently, isn’t far off – with 8.72 from the 2026-27 campaign so far. Just maintain, actually slightly improve, on that over the following 34 matches. No biggie.

Most goals in a La Liga season

The big one. Messi scored a mindblowing 50 goals in the 2011-12 La Liga season. That’s also an all-time record across Europe’s five major leagues.

Obviously, it’s a daft ask for Raphinha to get anywhere near that tally – but he’s made a solid start, currently leading Europe’s goalscoring charts with six goals in just four league appearances so far.

Extrapolate that 1.5 goals per game over the course of 38… and the Brazilian would be on for 57 La Liga goals this season.

Usual caveats apply. Sample size. Pinch of salt. Naturally.

Most La Liga hat-tricks in a season

It makes sense that Messi was frequently scoring bagfuls when he notched 50 goals in 2011-12.

That year he scored eight hat-tricks in La Liga, which remains a record.

Raphinha is yet to score one (pfft, chancer), so he has some catching up to do. But playing as a centre-forward, with the likes of Anthony Gordon, Lamine Yamal, Fermin Lopez and Pedri among the supporting cast, he’ll surely get a few this season.

Most La Liga games scored in a La Liga season

Messi’s logic-defying 2011-12 season – when Barca somehow didn’t even win the title – is doing a lot of work for us here.

But it’s actually the following season, when they wrestled their league crown back from Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid by matching their record 100 points, that Messi set the record for the most games scored in.

The Argentinian scored in 27 of Barca’s 38 games that season.

Given that Raphinha has four in four so far… Is that one not completely out of the realm of possibility? Provided he stays fit, of course, which is an admittedly big if.

Most goals in a season

Same as the above, but all competitions. Probably even more ridiculous.

As well as his 50 La Liga goals in 2011-12, Messi notched 73 in all competitions. That’s an all-time record in the entire history of European football, seven more than Ferenc Deak and Gerd Muller notched in Hungary and Germany in the 1940s and 1970s, respectively.

So far Raphinha has notched eight goals in five games in all competitions. Maintain that rate over the course of about 50 games in all comps and he’d do it.