Only a few players have had an impact on the soccer world, like Lionel Messi. His captivating physical abilities on the pitch, along with his sheer intelligence have transformed him into one of the greatest players in the world. The opposition defenders have tried to study his game, and coaches have devised plans to put shackles on him, yet to no avail.
“Messi is not a Leader”
— Max Stéph (@maxstephh) November 19, 2023
The Argentine has transformed the way soccer is played, with his greatness on the pitch. He didn’t have the physical advantage to wrestle big players off the ball. But it was his deft touches, and divine body feints, that could bring even the greatest of defenders to their knees.
The victims of Messi’s greatness transcend geography. With clubs and countries across the globe, falling prey. While that is true a lot of people do have reservations about the great. They complain about Messi, not repeating the success at Barca, with his subsequent teams.
Lionel Messi’s club statistics
Everyone is aware of the impact, Messi had at Barca. The Argentine dominated La Liga, scoring and assisting for fun. There have been countless times when he has rescued important points for the club, with his heroics. This led him to win 10 La Liga titles, during his time at the club. His tremendous talent helped Barca to excel in Europe’s Premier club competition too. He was an integral part of the team that won 4 out of 5 of Barca’s UCLs.
This is why a lot was expected from Messi when he moved to PSG from Barca in 2021. PSG had just had an amazing transfer window, assembling stars from the best teams in the world. Messi had re-united with his friend, Neymar after years of speculation. Everyone expected the trio of Messi-Neymar-Mbappe (or MNM) to wreak havoc across Europe.
Lionel Messi’s Barcelona stats are still hard to believe 😵💫 pic.twitter.com/ZeeiMYiVcQ
— GOAL (@goal) June 24, 2022
Anything lesser than a treble was doomed to be judged as a failure. And with the drop in quality from La Liga to Ligue 1 evident, Messi should have found his way even easier. It was destined that PSG and Messi would succeed.
Surprisingly the exact opposite happened. In Lionel Messi’s first season, the club went through a disaster. There were some shocking revelations made by investigative journalist Romain Molina against the club and its President Nasser Al Khelaifi
The performances on the pitch were not satisfactory at all. Real Madrid knocked PSG out of the UCL in the round of 16. The Ligue 1 trophy could not suffice the embarrassment of the loss in the Champions League. That season, Lionel Messi managed a G/A of 26 in 35 games, much lower than expected.
Lionel Messi’s redemption arc
Messi redeemed himself well the next season, managing to accumulate a G/A of 36 in 40 games for PSG, across all competitions. With his country, he finally won the elusive World Cup held in Qatar. Though he again failed to win the Champions League with PSG, he silenced his critics with his exceptional personal records.
Lionel Messi numbers at PSG
▪️ 75 games
▪️ 32 goals
▪️ 35 assists
▪️ 2 league titles
▪️ 1 French Super Cup pic.twitter.com/73UxK6gyIK— Naija (@Naija_PR) June 3, 2023
After analyzing every stat available about Messi’s two seasons at PSG, it came to light that his two seasons were a mix of misfortune and individual brilliance. In the first season, it took him time to understand the movement of his teammates, yet he managed to register 15+ assists in the league. He was also unlucky, as many of his efforts ricocheted off the post.
It wasn’t his fault that Benzema and Co. managed to pull that glorious comeback over PSG at Bernabeu in the 2021/22 UCL R16. The comeback was written in the stars. Besides that, in the same game, Messi had a close call when his brilliant free-kick narrowly missed the target.
Messi’s soccer abilities cannot be doubted in that period, as it was during this period when he lifted the Copa America and the World Cup with the Argentine team. He was very instrumental in both the wins.
He is ripping it apart for Inter Miami this season. The fans adore him, his teammates feel inspired and he has just won them the first trophy in their club’s history.
Lionel Messi against English clubs in the Champions League:
⚽ 9 goals vs. Arsenal
⚽ 6 goals vs. Man City
⚽ 4 goals vs. Man Utd
⚽ 3 goals vs. Chelsea
⚽ 2 goals vs. Spurs24 goals in 32 games, the most by any player in the history of the competition. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/2O0Yry6Dg0
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) April 17, 2019
It would be very unfair to classify Lionel Messi as a one-club wonder. In Barca, he did have a very protective environment. But, to his credit, he also did well against playing tough opposition from Europe, instead of just stat-padding against smaller teams. Thus, it is rather important to appreciate his greatness, as his nearing the end of his career. Lionel Messi has won it all, and he has proven why he’s called the GOAT by many.