Barcelona to begin life without Messi: Extraordinary Opta data emphasises just how much of a miss he’ll be

Messi
has
signed
a
two-year
deal
at
the
Parc
des
Princes
and
will
form
probably
the
most-feared
front
three
in
world
football
alongside
Kylian
Mbappe
and
his
old
friend
Neymar.

Barcelona’s
dire
financial
situation
meant
they
could
not
bring
their
greatest
ever
player
back
under
LaLiga’s
salary
restrictions,
meaning
they
begin
their
2021-22
campaign
on
Sunday
against
Real
Sociedad
with
a
gaping
void
in
their
team.

This
will
be
the
first
season
since
2003-04
that
Barca
haven’t
been
able
to
call
upon
the
Argentina
superstar,
and
his
absence
is
sure
to
leave
a
lingering
sense
of
astonishment
that
won’t
clear
for
a
while,
particularly
if
the
Blaugrana
endure
a
difficult
start
to
the
campaign.

Of
course,
Barca’s
hands
were
ultimately
tied
in
this
shocking
saga,
their
financial
state
so
rocky
that
signing
Messi
up
to
a
new
contract
after
his
previous
deal
expired
was
literally
impossible.
Although
the
two
parties
had
an
agreement,
the
numbers
simply
wouldn’t
work.

The
world
will
now
watch
on
with
fascination
as
Messi
represents
a
new
club
for
the
first
time
in
his
career,
while
back
in
Catalonia,
Barca
must
carry
on
like
nothing’s
happened.

That’ll
be
difficult
to
do.
Using
Opta
data,
Stats
Perform
looks
at
some
of
the
incredible
feats
that
make
Messi
irreplaceable.

Messi

played
778
games
for
Barcelona
in
all
competitions,

scoring
672
goals
and

providing
265
assists
across
those
games.
That
amounts
to

937
goal
involvements
during
his
Barca
career,
which
began
as
a
17-year-old.

Previously
a
one-club
man,
his
first
appearance
for
Barcelona
came
under
Frank
Rijkaard
against
Espanyol
in
October
2004,
while
his
first
goal
arrived
seven
months
later
with
a
clever
lob
against
Albacete
at
Camp
Nou
from
a
Ronaldinho
assist.

Brazil
great
Ronaldinho
was
the
last
Barcelona
player
to
wear
the
famed
number
10
before
Messi
took
that
shirt
in
2008
and
made
it
his
own.

But
Ronaldinho
does
not
feature
among
the
top
assisters
for
Messi
goals,
a
list
that
is

led
by
Luis
Suarez
(47).

Dani
Alves
assisted
42
of
the
attacker’s
goals
and
third
is

Andres
Iniesta
with
37,
six
more
than
fellow
legendary
midfielder
Xavi.

Messi

played
under
eight
different
coaches
during
his
time
with
Barcelona.
Of
those,
he

featured
most
often
(219
appearances)
and

scored
the
most
goals
(211)

during
Pep
Guardiola’s
tenure.

However,
the

60
goals
Messi
scored
in
50
games
under
the
late
Tito
Vilanova
–
an
average
of
1.20
goals
per
match
–
was
his
best
goals-per-game
return
with
a
single
coach.

Perhaps
unsurprisingly,
Messi’s
lowest
average
goals-per-game
ratio
was
during
the
Rijkaard
era
at
the
start
of
his
career
(0.38),
followed
by
the

0.63
managed
under
Quique
Setien
between
January
and
August
2020.

Messi’s
most
prolific
season
as
a
Barcelona
player
was
in
2011-12
when

scoring
a
remarkable
73
goals
in
all
competitions
and

providing
a
further
28
assists,
setting
a
personal
record
in
both
categories.

Indeed,
the
forward

netted
79
goals
for
his
club
across
the
calendar
year
in
2012,
which
is
a
record
amount
by
a
single
player.
His
next
most
prolific
year
was
2010

when
registering
58
times.

In
more
recent
years,
Messi
managed
51
goals
in
2016,
50
goals
in
2017,
47
goals
in
2018,
45
goals
in
2019
and
26
goals
in
2020
–
a
steady
decline
that
he
has
already
rectified
this
year,
having

scored
28
times
in
the
first
half
of
2021.

He
is
the
only
player
to
have
scored
10
or
more
goals
in
15
consecutive
LaLiga
seasons.

Messi’s
672
goals
for
Barcelona
were

scored
against
82
different
teams.
Sevilla
were
his
favourite
opponent,
finding
the
net
against
them

38
times
in
43
appearances.

Atletico
Madrid
were
next
on
that
particular
list,
with
Messi
bagging
32
goals
in
that
fixture,
followed
by
Valencia
(31),
Athletic
Bilbao
(29)
and
bitter
rivals
Real
Madrid
(26),
making
him
the

all-time
leading
scorer
in
El
Clasico.

In
terms
of
individual
goalkeepers,

Diego
Alves
was
Messi’s
most
frequent
victim,
the
former
Almeria
and
Valencia
man
having
conceded
21
goals
against
the
Argentina
superstar.

Real
Madrid
legend
Iker
Casillas
was
joint-third
with
17
goals
against,
one
fewer
than
the
18
Messi
put
past
Gorka
Iraizoz.

Messi
is
of
course
synonymous
with
Camp
Nou,
a
ground
where
he
has
scored

394
goals
in
381
games
at
an
average
of
1.03
per
match.
Madrid
fans
will
be
particularly
sick
of
him
as
he
has

scored
15
times
in
22
games
at
the
Santiago
Bernabeu
–
his
second
favourite
venue.

That
is
followed
by
the
Vicente
Calderon,
Atletico’s
old
home
(14
goals
in
20
appearances).
Deportivo
La
Coruna’s
Riazor
(13
in
eight)
and
Sevilla’s
Ramon
Sanchez-Pizjuan
(13
in
18)
complete
the
top
five.

It’s
fair
to
say
Barca
have
an
almighty
task
on
their
hands
in
replacing
him.

Messi’s
other
notable
records
and
achievements

–
Messi
is
LaLiga’s
all-time
leading
scorer
with
474
goals
and
is
the
second-highest
scorer
ever
in
Europe’s
top
five
leagues
behind
Cristiano
Ronaldo
(476).

–
He
scored
in
21
consecutive
LaLiga
games
between
November
2012
and
May
2013,
a
record
for
a
player
in
the
competition’s
history.

–
Messi
is
one
of
only
two
players
to
reach
100
goals
in
Champions
League
history
(120),
alongside
Cristiano
Ronaldo
(134).

–
He
was
the
first
player
to
score
five
goals
in
a
Champions
League
match,
doing
so
against
Bayer
Leverkusen
in
March
2012
at
Camp
Nou.

–
The
Argentina
forward
is
one
of
six
players
to
score
more
than
50
goals
in
the
Copa
del
Rey’s
history
and
the
only
one
to
score
in
six
different
finals
in
the
tournament
(Telmo
Zarra
scored
in
five).