Photos: Lionel Messi's magical decade at Barcelona

[caption id=“attachment_1761015” align=“alignleft” width=“940”]  Lionel Messi has made 284 La Liga appearances in the decade that has passed since he made his debut for Barcelona. An astounding figure for a player who is still only 27. Gettyimages[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_1760991” align=“alignleft” width=“940”]  September 27, 2005: Leo Messi of FC Barcelona and Felipe of Udinese challenge for the ball during the UEFA Champions League Group A match. The Argentine genius has scored 249 La Liga goals for Barcelona – just two short of the long-standing record of Athletic Bilbao legend Zarra. Getty Images[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_1760993” align=“alignleft” width=“940”]  February 1, 2006: Leo Messi of Barcelona and Milito of Zaragoza in action during a Copa del Rey match. Messi also has scored 68 Champions League goals so far, just three behind Real Madrid legend Raul and one behind Cristiano Ronaldo. Getty Images[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_1760995” align=“alignleft” width=“940”]  May 13, 2007: Lionel Messi during a La Liga match between FC Barcelona and Real Betis at the Camp Nou. While he has been fantastic for Barca, in the early years, his performances for Argentina didn’t quite match up. Getty Images[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_1760997” align=“alignleft” width=“940”]  February 27, 2008: And for all those who say that Messi is a selfish player – he also has a 135 assists in 10 years. Given the number of goals he scores, that is incredible. Getty Images.[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_1760999” align=“alignleft” width=“940”]  February 21, 2009: Lionel Messi of Barcelona also has a has some words with the linesman during the La Liga match between Barcelona and Espanyol at the Camp Nou stadium. Getty Images.[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_1761001” align=“alignleft” width=“940”]  January 16, 2010: When Messi does get going, he can be hard to stop and he has 26 hat-tricks to show just how dangerous he can be. Getty Images[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_1761003” align=“alignleft” width=“940”]  January 12, 2011: Messi has lifted 21 trophies with Barcelona during his ten-year career.[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_1761005” align=“alignleft” width=“940”]  January 4, 2012: Messi has been awarded the trophy for the best player in the world four times – mostly for what he has achieved with Barca. Getty Images[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_1761007” align=“alignleft” width=“940”]  February 10, 2013: Last season though was a disappointment for Messi as his team failed to pick up a major trophy. Getty Images[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_1761009” align=“alignleft” width=“940”]  February 15, 2014: Given that Messi is still just 27, he is far from done.[/caption] Photos: Lionel Messi’s magical 10 years at Barcelona