Messi in search of another record: Most trophies won at Barca

As if the football calender was designed to give everyone a boost, Barça's first official match of the season in Tangier tomorrow offers Lionel Messi a special challenge: to become Barcelona's captain and potentially make the Spanish Super Cup his 33rd trophy for the club. If Messi does just that he'll move ahead of Andres Iniesta, on 32, now that the midfield maestro is playing with Vissel Kobe in the Japanese League.

Although Iniesta has obviously won more titles at international level, both he and Messi have identical club records: 9 LaLiga titles, 6 Copa del Reys, 4 Champions Leagues, 3 Club World Cups, 3 UEFA Super Cups and 7 Spanish Super Cups. The first title the duo won came back in 2004/05 when Barça won LaLiga.

Messi is now one match away from being the outright leader as the player to have won the most titles at Barcelona.That would be one more than Iniesta and six more than two of his current teammates, Gerard Pique and Sergio Busquets, who have a total of 27 trophies during their time at Barcelona (Pique won four extra trophies with Manchester United). Xavi left the Camp Nou after winning 25 titles as Puyol and Valdes ended their Barça careers with 21 trophies to their name.

One of Messi's former teammates at Barcelona, Dani Alves, is the footballer with the most club titles in the history of football.

The Brazilian, who is used to winning since arriving at Sevilla in 2003, has won 36 titles across spells at five different teams: Bahia, Sevilla, Barça, Juventus and PSG. The French Super Cup that PSG won last week made him the outright holder of the most titles at club level. And that's not including his two Confederation Cups, in 2009 and 2013, and a Copa America in 2007.

Other names on the list are Ryan Giggs and Kenny Dalglish, both with 35 trophies. At only 31 years of age, Messi isn't too far away from Alves' total.