Lionel Messi continues to set and shatter records at Spanish club Barcelona and now the Argentine legend has become the first the club's first player to make 76 appearances in Copa del Rey.

The 33-year-old multiple Ballon d'Or winner holds a huge number of records but his appearance vs Rayo Vallecano means he sets a new club record.

Messi overtook Josep Samitier, a Barcelona legend who had made 75 appearances for Barcelona in the competition almost a century ago.

In the 76 matches Lionel Messi has played for Barcelona in the Copa del Rey, he has scored 53 goals - second only to Samitier himself, who had scored 64 goals in 75 matches.

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He has won six staggering titles from the competition while Samitier claimed five during his remarkable career.

Athletic Bilbao legend Agustín Gainza is the only player who has won more Copa del Rey titles than Messi having claimed it seven times in the 1940s and 1950s.

The six-time Ballon d'Or winner holds almost every single goal-scoring record in Barcelona's history and is inarguably club's greatest player ever.

Lionel Messi is first Barcelona star to make 76 appearances in Copa del Rey.
Photo: David S.
Bustamante

Meanwhile, Former Argentina goalkeeper Hugo Orlando Gatti believes Barcelona should let Lionel Messi leave after claiming they win every time the forward does not play.

The six-time Ballon d'Or winner didn't feature in the Catalans' last two games owing to the red card he bagged in their Super Cup final against Athletic Bilbao on January 17.

Ronald Koeman's men went ahead to win the two games by two goals to nothing and also kept clean sheets on both occasions.

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However, Legit.ng earlier reported that Sergio Aguero and David Alaba have emerged as top transfer targets for struggling La Liga outfit Barcelona this summer.

Both Manchester City and Bayern Munich stars will be out of contract with their respective clubs at the end of the ongoing season.

The 32-year-old Argentine is expected to leave the Etihad Stadium outfit after 10 years having stalled on extending his reign with the Premier League club.

He is the club's all-time highest goals scorer with 256 goals and 73 assists in 379 appearances across competitions for the Citizens.