OFFICIAL: Messi Sets a Historic Milestone Extremely Difficult to Break

Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets have been teammates from Barcelona to Inter Miami throughout most of their professional journeys. Following a series of trophies won together, this iconic pair further marks football history with a unique achievement.

It all began in 2008, when Messi had emerged as one of the world's most promising attacking talents, while Busquets, then just 20 years old and a product of the La Masia academy, was still striving to secure his place in the first team. During the 2008-09 season, Pep Guardiola's first in charge of Barcelona, the manager gave an opportunity to his former player from the B team. Busquets made his debut on September 13th in a 1-1 draw with Racing Santander, which also marked the first time he and Messi appeared on the pitch together.

From that point on, Messi gradually rose to become one of the greatest forwards in football history, while Busquets redefined the defensive midfielder role with a unique playing style that few could replicate. When Messi tearfully left Barcelona in 2021, the two had played a total of 569 matches together for the Catalan club.

In 2023, they reunited at Inter Miami, a club then struggling and sitting at the bottom of the MLS standings. The arrival of the veteran duo helped transform the Florida-based team into a new force. In 84 matches played together in South Florida, Messi and Busquets helped Inter Miami secure titles such as the Leagues Cup, MLS Supporters' Shield, and MLS Cup, before Busquets decided to retire after the previous season.

According to World Soccer Talk, by adding up the total number of matches they played together for Barcelona and Inter Miami, the International Federation of Football History & Statistics confirmed Messi and Busquets as the pair of players who have played the most matches together in football history, with 653 matches. This figure not only highlights the exceptional chemistry between the two players but also reflects the stability and longevity of one of the most iconic partnerships in modern football.

For comparison, one of Messi's most famous attacking partners, Luis Suárez, shared the pitch with him only 324 times, less than half the number of matches Messi played alongside Busquets.

Previously, the record was held by Busquets himself and his former Barcelona teammate Gerard Piqué. This pair debuted at the same time in 2008 and later became pillars for both Barcelona and the Spanish national team. They played 533 matches together at club level and an additional 87 for the Spanish national team, totaling 620 matches, falling 33 short of the Messi-Busquets record.

Ranking third on the all-time list are two legends of Bayern Munich and the German national team, Gerd Müller and Sepp Maier, the striker-goalkeeper duo who played together 611 times over 14 seasons.

A rare contemporary pair still with an opportunity to come close to this record is Thomas Müller and Manuel Neuer, who also have 611 joint appearances. However, with Müller now playing for Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Neuer still at Bayern Munich, the likelihood of them increasing this number is quite low, as both are entering the final chapters of their careers.