It has been three full years since Lionel Messi left European football to conquer Major League Soccer in the United States. Yet, his ghostly presence continues to hang over Europe’s top five leagues.
According to recent data compiled by Squawka, despite the immense talent currently playing across the continent, no active player has managed to surpass the 8-time Ballon d’Or winner in four highly specific statistical categories since the 2017-2018 season.
Here are the four incredible metrics where the Argentine captain remains the undisputed king of Europe.
1. Goals From Outside the Penalty Area (40 Goals)
In modern football, where expected goals (xG) and data-driven tactics heavily discourage low-percentage shots, spectacular long-range strikes are becoming a rarity. That rule, however, never applied to Messi.
Since the 2017-18 season, Messi has netted an absurd 40 goals from outside the box in just 196 matches. To put his lethal left foot into perspective, he has 14 more long-range goals than the next two closest players—Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane—despite them playing 67 and 97 more games than Messi in that same timeframe.
2. Hitting the Woodwork (54 Times)
Some might argue that hitting the post isn’t a stat worth celebrating. But in reality, it highlights just how dangerously close Messi constantly is to scoring. A few mere centimeters are all that prevented him from adding dozens of more goals to his tally.
Messi has struck the post or crossbar 54 times (a staggering 5.7% rate during his time in La Liga and Ligue 1). Robert Lewandowski, who has played three full seasons in Europe since Messi’s departure, remains 11 woodwork hits behind.
3. Big Chances Created (168)
Messi is not just an elite goalscorer; he is arguably the greatest playmaker in football history. He currently tops the charts with 168 big chances created since the 2017-2018 campaign.
The only player capable of breathing down his neck in this category is Manchester City’s brilliant Belgian midfielder, Kevin De Bruyne, who sits just one chance behind at 167. The fact that it has taken three years for an active Premier League star to even threaten Messi’s total shows exactly how high the Argentine set the standard. Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah ranks third on the list with 145 big chances, despite having played over 100 more matches than Messi.
4. Successful Through-Passes (132)
Acting as a perfect companion to his chance-creation stats, Messi’s vision is unmatched. Between the 2017-2018 and 2022-2023 seasons, he successfully completed an eye-watering 132 through balls.
To understand the sheer scale of this achievement, only five players have managed to reach even half of that total over the last nine seasons. Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes is currently the closest active player, but he still trails Messi by a massive 48 successful through-passes. Even five years from now, it is highly likely that Messi will still be sitting comfortably at the top of this list.
