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What's the story?
Barcelona superstar, Lionel Messi, has been labelled as the best player in the world by leading sports scientist, Simon Brundish, who claimed to have the statistics to back his statement, CNN reports.
Fans often argue about who the world's best player is, but Brundish said that given the Argentine's ridiculous stats with his club, there's no player who can be compared with him at the moment.
In case you didn't know...
Messi returned to the international fold for the first time since Argentina were eliminated from the World Cup last summer by eventual champions France.
His return was marked by a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Venezuela, in which the five-time Ballon d'Or winner picked up a groin injury.
The heart of the matter...
According to football statistics website, Understat, currently, Messi has a goal or assist every 48 minutes, which is far better than Juventus star, Cristiano Ronaldo, who is often considered to be the only player who can keep Messi on his toes.
It seems Messi and Ronaldo are caught up in a never-ending cycle of outperforming each other, with the left-footed forward matching the Portuguese's incredible hat-trick in the Champions League by a masterclass of his own by scoring two and assisting two goals, the very next day in the same competition, little more than a week ago.
Sports scientist Simon Brundish was talking to CNN and explained that given the superior xG and xA statistics that Messi boasts, he is the best footballer in the world presently. When asked by CNN who is the best footballer in the world, he replied:
"While he's alive, there's only Lionel Messi, if you're saying anybody else is the best player in the world, Messi's had a broken leg for a year, or he's dead, or you're lying."
The 31-year-old forward has been absolutely phenomenal for the LaLiga giants this season and currently leads the European Golden shoe charts, while also having the most assists across the European top-flight with 12 to his name.
Brundish concluded his analysis of Messi's numbers, by taking a dig at the GOAT debate, saying there's no doubt over who's the greatest player in the world. He simply asked,
"Where is the argument?"
What's next?
Though Messi returned to Barcelona training on Wednesday after recovering from a groin injury, he is expected to be rested until they take on Manchester United in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal.
