The Argentinean magician had another brilliant season with Barcelona, finishing the season by winning the LaLiga 2018 and the Copa Del Rey. He scored 34 goals from 36 games in the league, winning the Pichichi Trophyfor the 5th time. He also picked up the European Golden Shoe for a record 5th time. He scored a total 45 goals in 54 appearances and also registered 18 assists, in all competitions. Messi was also the LaLiga top assist provider last season, for the 4th time in his career. It was a testament to a player who has so many facets to his game, he can score, he can assist and he can mesmerize the world with his skills.
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Over the summer, Messi endured a disappointing run at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, where Argentina were eliminated from the Round of 16 by eventual winner France. Messi ended the tournament with just 1 goal.
On his return to Barcelona, the Argentinean Skipper won the Supercopa De Espanaat the start of the season. Since then Messi has been in inspired form, scoring 11 goals in 11 games so far in the 2018/19 season and also registering 5 assists.
Lionel Messi would certainly have been the favourite to lift the Ballon d'Or again this year, had it not been for a certain player who has had an unbelievable year and holds a minuscule advantage over the Argentinean.
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About the author
Deepungsu Pandit
Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over seven years at Sportskeeda. He has written more than 9000 articles for the website, and has garnered over 20 million reads.
Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.
Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.
Deepungsu has been a Manchester United supporter since the year 2000. Unsurprisingly, his favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson and the Scotsman helped him get through some of the toughest days of his life. Like the fiery Scot, Deepungsu also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to accuracy in articles and only relies on credible sources.
Despite believing in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland to create an iconic rivalry, Deepungsu reckons no one can match the longevity of Messi and Ronaldo. He spends his leisure time writing about life on his blog, reading books, and playing the guitar.