- He became the player with the most appearances in the history of the world's oldest national team tournament.
- He surpassed the historic Chilean goalkeeper Sergio Livingstone, who had set the record in 1953.
On June 20, 2024, Lionel Messi became the player with the most appearances in the history of CONMEBOL Copa América™: when he appeared in the match against Canada, the Argentine reached 35 matches across seven editions of the tournament.
The number 10 started for the Argentine national team in the opening match of the 48th edition of the tournament, against Canada at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.
Messi made his debut in the CONMEBOL Copa América™ at 20 years old, when he was called up by Alfio Basile. Sergio Batista (2011), Gerardo Martino (2015 and 2016), and Lionel Scaloni (2019, 2021, and 2024) were the other coaches he had in this tournament.
In the six previous editions, Messi achieved one title (2021), three runner-up finishes (2007, 2015, and 2016), a third place (2019), and in 2011, he reached the quarterfinals.
Matches and goals by tournament
- Venezuela 2007: six matches, two goals.
- Argentina 2011: four matches, no goals.
- Chile 2015: six matches, one goal.
- United States 2016: five matches, five goals.
- Brazil 2019: six matches, one goal.
- Brazil 2021: seven matches, four goals.
- United States 2024 (ongoing): 1 match
Total: 35 matches, 13 goals
CONMEBOL / Opta
