Messi has copped a lot of criticism for some of his performances this season, but has he actually been playing Badly? Simple answer, not at all.
Yes, Messi hasn't played badly at all and nothing better to prove it than stats. According to Twitter statistician Statsman Dave, Messi has actually been one of the top players in Ligue 1 so that got us thinking – how does he compare to the other superstars currently making Europe their playground?
Well, thanks to the gurus at WhoScored, we find that Messi is, statistically, the third best player in Europe this season, outranking even Karim Benzema and Mohamed Salah who has been having the season of their life.
The top 10 players in Europe according to stats
Using metrics ranging from minutes played, to G/A to man of the match performances, WhoScored have come up with a definitive rating for each star in the top 10.
You can see the top 10 in the list below:
Robert Lewandowski, 7.93
Kylian Mbappe, 7.91
Lionel Messi, 7.71
Karim Benzema, 7.68
Mohamed Salah, 7.68
Joshua Kimmich, 7.63
Christopher Nkunku, 7.62
Ousmane Demeble, 7.60
Neymar, 7.59
Erling Haaland, 7.56
