Let's face it, Messi's first season at Paris Saint-Germain wasn't exactly spectacular. Despite scoring six goals in Ligue 1, he was surprisingly not nominated for the Ballon d'Or.
This season, Lionel Messi is serious.
But when it comes to Messi, who is arguably the greatest athlete to have ever lived, you just know that he or she will recover from a challenging year at work. And boy, is Messi doing that.
Messi's amazing 2022–23 season debut
In fact, the Barcelona great has already scored half as many goals in his first three games of the French top tier as he did in his 26 games in the competition previous time around.
But Messi's first four games this season have featured more than just his goals; in fact, every facet of his game appears to have been fine-tuned to the heights we saw from him in recent years in Catalonia.
The 37-year-old continues to amaze everyone with his creative brilliance, seems to understand the Neymar and Kylian Mbappe combination, and is never more than a few minutes away from embarrassing an opponent.
And while it is true that the campaign is still in its early stages, the evidence so far would indicate that Messi might be right back in the running for the Ballon d'Or by the time 2023 arrives.
In the metrics, Messi is doing well.
Don't trust us? Messi is presently rated statistically as the second-best player in the top five leagues in Europe this season, according to report, so the evidence is in the pudding.
Every player in those divisions is given a rating out of 10 by the well-known data gurus for each game they participate in, which may then be averaged across their seasons' performances.
As a result, players maintain a season-long average rating that gets fans as close as possible to a situation where footballers may be fairly and objectively compared.
Lionel Messi representing Argentina
Which team did Lionel Messi make his professional football debut for?
And, well, the 2022–23 season's data thus far speaks for itself, with Messi already flexing his muscles as the continent's second-highest-rated player.
the 30 best players in Europe so far
Therefore, make sure to look at Europe's statistical top 30 stars thus far this season to see who managed to defeat the PSG ace and which elite athletes are hot on his heels:
Nuno Tavares of Marseille, 30th, 7.69
Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - August 14, 2022, Stade Francis-Le Ble, Brest, France, Brest vs. Olympique de Marseille Nuno Tavares of Olympique de Marseille celebrates their first goal. Stephen Mahe for Reuters
On August 20, 2022, in Reggio nell'Emilia, Italy, Wladimiro Falcone of US Lecce participated in the Serie A match between US Sassuolo and US Lecce at Mapei Stadium - Citta' del Tricolore. (Image)
Achraf Hakimi, 24, of Paris Saint-Germain, scored 7.76 points.
Gabriel Jesus (Arsenal) 23. 7.77
Geronimo Rulli (Villarreal) in 22nd place, 7.78
Ismael Bennacer of AC Milan, rank 21, 7.83
Dean Henderson (Nottingham Forest) in 20th place with a 7.83
Clapping from Forest's Handerson.
Burton Albion and Nottingham Forest will play each other in a preseason friendly on July 12, 2022, at Pirelli Stadium in Burton-on-Trent, England. Dean Henderson, a Nottingham Forest player Image
- 7.85 19. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli)
Bartlomiej Dragowski (Spezia), 18th place, 7.86
Remy Cabella (Lille), 17th place, 7.87
16. AS Roma's Lorenzo Pellegrini, 7.88
Jonathan David (Lille), 15th place, 7.88
David of Lille has the ball.
On March 16, 2022, in Lille, France, Jonathan David of Lille OSC played against Chelsea FC in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 match at Stade Pierre-Mauroy. (Image)
Teji Savanier (Montpellier), 14th place, 7.95
Jack Harrison (Leeds United) in 13th place with 7.95
Piotr Zielinski from Naples, 12th, 7.98
Michael Gregoritsch (Freiburg), 11th, 8.03
10. Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne (8.09)
De Bruyne of Man City warming up.
Soccer Football - Premier League - August 13, 2022, Etihad Stadium, Manchester, United Kingdom, Manchester City vs. AFC Bournemouth Erling Braut Haaland with Kevin De Bruyne of Manchester City before the game. Images
8.20 Tete (Lyon), 9.
Fernando Martinez from Almeria, eighth, 8.20
7. Cremonese native Ionut Radu (8.25)
Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich) sixth with an 8.39
5. Paris Saint-Kylian Germain's Mbappe (8.59)
Mbappe of PSG applauding.
Soccer Football - Pre Season Friendly - July 23, 2022, Saitama Stadium, Saitama, Japan, Urawa Red Diamonds vs. Paris Saint-Germain Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring Paris St. Germain's second goal. Issei Kato for Reuters
4th place: Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich) (8.65).
3. Lorient's Armand Lauriente (8.68)
2. Paris Saint-Lionel Germain's Messi (8.71)
Paris Saint-Neymar Germain's scored 9.53.
Neymar of PSG excelled against Lille.
Ligue 1 soccer match between Lille and Paris St. Germain scheduled for August 21 at Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France Neymar of Paris St. Germain following the game Pascal Rossignol for Reuters
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