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Another year, another record-breaking campaign for Lionel Messi, Barcelona's majestic captain and legend. At this point, it's more of a habit than an achievement.
The Argentine sent records tumbling after another incredible individual campaign across all fronts. While it might not have been his highest in terms of goals and assists, in the right context, his achievements are nothing short of commendable.
There was an immense amount of uncertainty regarding Lionel Messi's long-term future at Barcelona ahead of the 2020-21 campaign.
The forward famously came out with an interview in which he held nothing back and said things as they needed to be said. Lionel Messi opened up about his well-documented desire to leave the Nou Camp, addressed the rumours of ex-Barcelona superstar Neymar returning, and much more.
With just a year left on his contract at the time, Lionel Messi wanted to leave Barcelona to try a new challenge. Barcelona eventually blocked his exit, and this seemingly messy situation had an impact on his displays on the pitch.
He didn't set the world alight at the start of the campaign, but by the end of it, he reminded the world of his unquestionable credentials. With his contract coming to an end soon, his future is still very much up in the air, and the Blaugrana's failures on the pitch won't make his choice any easier.
However, Barcelona's relatively disappointing 2020-21 and talk of a potential transfer should, by no means, overshadow the campaign Lionel Messi has had in Spain.
On that note, here, we take a look at the ten metrics in LaLiga Santander that Lionel Messi topped this season, and who trails him in second place.
Lionel Messi's LaLiga season for Barcelona in numbers
#1 Most goals: 30
Second place: Karim Benzema/Gerard Moreno (23)
Lionel Messi got off to a relatively slow start to the 2020-21 league campaign due to issues surrounding his future at the time. While a goal return of five goals in the first 12 games is still a great tally for the majority of the top-flight players, it was underwhelming for the 33-year-old.
After appearing to be on the brink of a disappointing season, Lionel Messi quickly turned things around with a staggering 14-game run with a goal or assist. His 18 goals during this period and a strong end to the season saw him win his record eighth Pichichi.
#2 Most goals and assists: 39
Second place: Karim Benzema (32)
Much like his slow start to the season in terms of his scoring rate, Lionel Messi failed to create much in the early stages of the season with just one assist. This was, of course, until the aforementioned freak 14-game run he embarked on to single-handedly bring Barcelona higher up the table.
Lionel Messi registered eight assists in this period and ended with a total of 30 league goals (highest) and nine assists, at least seven more than anyone else. His tally of nine league assists is the joint-lowest he's registered over the last decade, having assisted as many in 2016/17.
#3 Most shots: 191
Second place: Karim Benzema (123)
It comes as no surprise to see that the league's top goalscorer has also attempted the highest number of shots in the league. This tally is inclusive of shots blocked by the opposition.
Quite remarkably, even if one were to remove Lionel Messi's blocked shots (55), his tally of 141 is still higher than anyone in the league, including their blocked shots. Karim Benzema's total was the next-highest with 123 (25 blocked), and Huesca's Rafa Mir came in at third with 120 (16 blocked).
Lionel Messi has also registered a staggering 91 shots on target, at least 36 higher than anyone else in the league.
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#4 Most chances created: 77
Second place:
David Ferreiro (73)
Apart from carrying the goalscoring burden of his side, Lionel Messi is also undisputedly Barcelona's best creator. The 33-year-old has created chances out of nothing to bail his side out on several occasions.
Huesca veteran David Ferreiro's 73 chances is the closest anyone got to Lionel Messi's league-high 77, having played two games more. Real Madrid's Toni Kroos comes in at third place with 67, and the only other Barcelona player on the list is Jordi Alba with 53.
#5 Most big chances created: 22
Second place: Iago Aspas (16)
Building on the previous metric, Lionel Messi has also created a league-high 22 big chances in LaLiga.
Opta defines a big chance as 'a situation where a player should reasonably be expected to score, usually in a one-on-one scenario or from very close range when the ball has a clear path to goal and there is low to moderate pressure on the shooter.'
His tally of 22 falls short of his 2019-20 total by 14. Lionel Messi failed to hit 30 big chances created in a season for the first time since registering 25 in 2016-17. Iago Aspas comes in next at 16.
#6 Most through balls: 20
Second place: Sergio Busquets (13)
There are very few players in the world who can register through balls as effortlessly as Lionel Messi. He can split defences wide open with a ball that very few can actually see, let alone execute the pass.
No player in LaLiga, and in fact, in Europe's top five leagues could match Lionel Messi's tally of 20 through balls. His Argentine teammate Angel Di Maria comes in at second with 16 in Ligue 1. In LaLiga, Sergio Busquets' 13 is the closest to his Barcelona teammate's 20.
#7 Most take-ons: 159
Second place: Javier Galan (121)
Another well-documented facet of Lionel Messi's game is his god-like ability on the ball to ghost past players like they were training cones. While the naked eye is more than enough to be convinced of his dribbling ability, statistics merely amplify his case. He completed an astonishing 182 of them in LaLiga alone.
This year, the Barcelona captain is one of only two players in LaLiga to surpass 100 take-ons with Javi Galan of Huesca. Messi completed a whopping 38 more of them than the Spaniard.
#8 Most fouls drawn: 99
Second place: Javi Galan (97)
It isn't hard to see why the best dribbler in LaLiga and possibly the best in the world is the man with the most number of fouls won. No player in the division was fouled more times than Lionel Messi this season. That being said, unlike other metrics on this list, this is a mighty close finish.
Javi Galan comes in at second place with 97 fouls won, while Nabil Fekir and Kike come in next with 93 and 92 fouls won respectively.
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