Player of the season nominees – Lionel Messi

With the season having ended, Sportskeeda decided to let its viewers rate the 30 best players of the season.

We will be shortlisting 30 of the best performers this term, and let you pick your winner.

What do you think? Have your say at the end of the article.

Variants of the phrase ‘never did so many need to look up to speak to one so short’ have been oft used to describe those whose excellent achievements in their chosen fields have surpassed those of their peers. Such statements are normally used to describe them when the grey is visible around their temples, or are normally included as speeches in eulogies.

In Lionel Messi‘s case, he is fully deserving of such praise at the age of 26. With the best years of his career still ahead of him, there is little doubt that he will become one of the greatest players the beautiful game has ever seen.

But last season, the legend that is Lionel Messi was shown to be human on more than one worrying occasion. Nevertheless, his magnificent performances for Barcelona which saw them clinch their fourth La Liga title in five years, breaking multiple records en route.

The world’s best?

Lionel Messi has three Ballons d’Or titles to his name, which,  is only the tip of the iceberg into how prolific a player he actually is. In fact, so clinical is he when it comes to finishing that David Villa, who is Barcelona’s only natural striker, was fielded out wide because of the deadly finishing and dribbling skills that Messi possesses.

Messi is a player who is nigh impossible to mark against on his day. Which just happens to be every time he steps onto the football pitch (well, nearly every time).

It’s not just that Messi is giving it his all out there. It is that he was born with the awesome ball control skills seen on display at the some of the world’s most famous footballing venues. He’s been a sought after kid ever since European scouts came to know of his immense talent. It wasn’t just Barcelona, but Internazionale Milano and Real Madrid (yes, Real Madrid) who came quite close to signing him.

But right from the start, Messi and his father Jorge had their hearts set on him joining Barcelona and once they gave him the opportunity to shine, he made sure he repaid them by showcasing his dazzling form week in, week out.

Messi scored a whopping 46 goals from 32 league games last season, comfortably picking up the gong for the Liga’s top scorer (the Pichichi) with Cristiano Ronaldo a distant second with 34. Shockingly enough, Messi scored 40 goals with his left boot alone, more than any other player in the league did with feet and head (or any other body part) combined.

In all competitions, he scored 60 goals and assisted a further sixteen.