Messi alone has contributed to more goals than Real Madrid has scored in 2021

Lionel Messi – arguably the greatest footballer of all time – started out the 20/21 season on a torrid note. Having just gone through the woeful experience of being held prisoner by former president Josep Maria Bartomeu, the Argentinian was not in the right frame of mind to perform at his best level. This directly impacted his performances, as he failed to score any open play goals in his first eleven games of the season.

However, come 2021, Messi managed to turn an awful season around into one in which he is enjoying the form of his life. What seemed a season in which the Number Ten couldn’t find the net at all has turned into one in which it seems the goals never stop coming.

The six-time Ballon d’Or winner has always been a player whose statistics are not comparable with other players but instead are at the level of other teams. In fact, the best way to outline this is by comparing the 33-year-old’s direct goal contributions to that of his arch-rivals Real Madrid.

In 2021, Real Madrid have managed to score 21 goals in total, whereas Lionel Messi alone has been directly involved in 23 goals for Barcelona (16 goals, 7 assists) in 2021.

The last time that Lionel Messi was not directly involved in a goal in La Liga, was 3 months ago. ? pic.twitter.com/B7ZvBPhtEC

— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) March 28, 2021

Outperforming teams singularly has always been a speciality for the Argentinian; however, it is the change of narrative regarding his season that is most interesting when inspecting his statistics this year. It seems the saying form is temporary, class is permanent is one that is proved right time and time again by this little genius. Yet many are taking to social media to amend the saying regarding Messi.

People now prefer to say – concerning the Number Ten – form is permanent, class is permanent. No matter what tactics, teams, or efforts are put up to stop Messi, it seems nothing at all has worked in the last seventeen years. We can only hope that the Argentine playmaker continues outperforming teams for a long time to come.