With the clouds of toxicity still hovering over Lionel Messi and Barcelona after their recent debacle, the focus seems to have shifted from football. Thus, it’s easy to forget what sporting value Messi has provided to Barca over the years.
Despite a cataclysmic end to Barcelona’s 19/20 season, Lionel Messi was able to muster some astonishing stats with 31 goals and 26 assists in all competitions.
The Argentinian is still going strong at the age of 33, and Barcelona would feel very lucky to retain his services when they need him the most.
When talking about the very best of players in the world, many feel that Lionel Messi deserves to be in a bracket above everyone else, and for a good reason.
In Jamie Vardy’s three-goal show at the Etihad Stadium last night, Messi surprisingly showed up in a stat enlisting the top players to have scored against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
Against men who get to play against City at least twice a season, Messi stood 3rd on the list alongside Mo Salah with four goals.
In comparison, Jamie Vardy and Son Heung-min, who ranked 1st and 2nd respectively, played over eight more games against Guardiola’s Man City than Messi.
If the Argentine is already able to feature in such statistics, one can only imagine what would happen if he indeed makes his speculated switch to England.
