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Over the past 12 years, we have become familiar with Lionel Messi's exploits season after season. His impact on the pitch never seems to diminish despite the fact that the Argentine magician is getting older day by day. Barcelona's talisman will soon turn 32 in the coming months but he is showing no signs of slowing down.
Lionel Messi has been in his majestic form throughout the season and carried Barcelona with his usual, monumental impact on the pitch. It almost seems as if the five-time Ballon d'Or winner doesn't go through a bad patch in a whole campaign, which really reveals how consistent Messi is.
Despite not scoring a goal against bitter rivals Real Madrid in the three of the four 'El Clasicos' he played, Messi is undoubtedly playing the most pivotal part in Barcelona's dominance as usual. His hat-trick against Sevilla in the last month bailed the Blaugrana out of trouble twice, as Sevilla lost 4-2 despite securing the lead more than once in the match.
As evident, the 31-year-old managed to pop up in times of need in numerous games throughout the current campaign. Leo Messi was not particularly at his usual self against Rayo Vallecano but he managed to assist one and convert one penalty to become the top goal scorer and top assist provider in Europe.
Messi leads the goalscoring charts comprising of goalscorers from Europe's top five leagues with 26 goals in 25 matches - two goals ahead of second-placed Kylian Mbappe. His eternal rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, remains fourth on the same list but way behind the Argentine genius, with 19 goals.
In all competitions, Leo has scored 34 goals this season, whereas, his closest competitor, Kylian Mbappe has 29 to his name. With Paris Saint-Germain already out of the UEFA Champions League, it will be tough for the young Frenchman to catch up with his rival, who remains in a league of his own.
The race for the 'Pichichi' trophy is also one-sided, with Messi's only competitor being his teammate, Luis Suarez, who has scored 17 goals in the La Liga but nine goals behind the mercurial Argentine. The only tournament where Messi is behind in the goalscoring race is UEFA Champions League as he has scored 6 goals, two behind top scorer, Robert Lewandowski.
At the end of February, statistics also revealed that Messi is the leading dribbler in Europe, ahead of Eden Hazard and Sancho. Barcelona's captain also leads the race for most assists across Europe's top 5 leagues with 14 assists to his name right now.
Messi's unprecedented dominance can be seen through the numbers but the statistics still fail to fully justify the impact of the magician with Barcelona. Undoubtedly, Lionel Messi is untouchable in both Spain and Europe as his staggering exploits depict in the current campaign.
