Lionel Messi • Argentina • Attacking Midfielder, Winger + Second Striker!

The magician; the atomic flea; the goat; Leo Messi. He is a world class dribbler, with great finishing, vision, creativity, skill, passing range, speed, free-kicks, long shots and crossing. His 91 goals and 29 assists in just 69 official games in 2012 is easily the best year by a player ever. That included 13 goals in 12 UCL games, 12 in 9 for Argentina and 59 in just 38 league appearances. He has won a record 6 Ballon d’Ors, as well as 4 Champions League titles, 10 La Liga titles, a World Cup Golden Ball, 3 FIFA Club World Cups, 6 Copa del Reys and a record 6 European Golden Shoes. Whether he is scoring or assisting, it is rare for Messi to not be involved in his team’s goals throughout his career. Simply watching Messi play is a magical experience that almost every other sport and player can’t offer. It was obvious Messi was going to become a star from a young age and his hat-trick vs Real Madrid aged 19 emphasised this fact. Some people try and claim that Messi isn’t a big-game player but 29 goals and 13 assists in 41 final appearances says otherwise. On top of that, Messi is the record goalscorer in El Clásico matches. Finally, the people that claim Messi couldn’t do it in the Premier League clearly haven’t seen his record against English teams.

Chelsea: 10 games (835’), 3 goals, 3 assists

Arsenal: 6 games (536’), 9 goals, 2 assists

Man. City: 6 games (540’), 6 goals, 3 assists

Man. Utd: 6 games (511’), 4 goals, 0 assists

Liverpool: 4 games (360’), 2 goals, 0 assists

Spurs: 1 game (90’), 2 goals, 0 assists

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Total: 33 games (2,872’), 26 goals, 8 assists

Per Game: 0.79 goals, 0.24 assists, 1.03 DGI

Minutes Per Goal: 110.46

Minutes Per Assist: 359

Minutes Per Direct Goal Involvement: 84.47

Simply astonishing!