Lionel Messi has now been directly involved in 40+ goals in 10 of his 16 LaLiga seasons

While Barcelona have seemingly blown away their chance to retain the LaLiga title, their captain Lionel Messi continues to churn out the numbers like he usually does. On Sunday night (Monday IST), Lionel Messi was once again the best player on the pitch, helping Barcelona to dominant 4-1 win at Villareal. While the Argentine forward failed to get on the scoresheet, he impressed with his all-round performance and even managed to bag a couple of assists.

With his two assists against Villareal, Messi has been involved in 41 goals this season for Barcelona (22 goals and 19 assists). This means the Catalan captain has been involved in 40 or more goals in 10 of his 16 LaLiga seasons. 

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All season, Lionel Messi has been the standout player for Barcelona, who have not always impressed with their performances. The Catalan giants resumed the season last month with a two-point lead over Real Madrid. However, back-to-back draws against Atletico Madrid and Celta Vigo meant the lead has fizzled into a four-point deficit. 

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Lionel Messi stats vs Villareal

Back in March, Lionel Messi broke the 40-goal mark in all competitions for the 10th time in his Barcelona career. On Sunday night, he topped it up with another milestone under his belt. Against Villareal, the 33-year-old put in yet another flawless shift for his side. His assist for Luis Suarez's goals (Barcelona's second) was a moment of individual brilliance.

The diminutive forward picked up the ball deep before dancing past a host of Villareal players. He then slid-in an inch-perfect pass to Luis Suarez for a first-time finish. His second assist of the match came at the stroke of half time when a simple backheel allowed Antoine Griezmann to execute a sublime chip into the back of the net. In the second half, Lionel Messi had one goal ruled out for offside in the second half while he struck the crossbar late in the stoppage time with a freekick. 

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Lionel Messi transfer

Meanwhile, the Lionel Messi Barcelona future has been questioned repeatedly since reports indicated the 33-year-old could leave the Spanish giants at the end of the season. Messi has reportedly fallen out with manager Quique Setien, which fueled rumours that a Lionel Messi transfer might just be in the cards in the coming transfer window. 

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(Image Credits: Barcelona Twitter Handle)