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The TRUTH: Does Messi really give the ball away more than any other La Liga player?

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Some interesting/sensationalist statistics were recently collated by SuperDeporte and then picked up by Goal who brought them to a wider audience. The most astonishing statistic that was brought to light was the fact that Messi had conceded possession 279 times thus far this season – more so than any other player in La Liga. Now that’s the kind of stat that will surely have Cristiano Ronaldo fans up in arms chanting a chorus of: ‘I told you so! I told you so!’

But when you look deeper, when you look below the statistics, is it fair to criticize Messi for losing the ball so much? It’s clear how important Messi is to this Barcelona side and it’s generally accepted nowadays that if Messi scores, Barcelona will go on to win the game (as it turns out, this happens 89% of the time) and given that he has scored 141 goals in 197 La Liga games for Barcelona, I’d say he’s damn near essential.

Let’s not forget that there are a number of contributing factors as to how Messi has come to give the ball away 279 times this season. Firstly, he’s both the focal point and channel for the Barcelona attack. He’s not only relied upon to make things happen alongside Iniesta and Xavi, but he also shoulders a significant amount of Barcelona’s goal-scoring burden.

His importance to this Barca side and his willingness to be all things at once mean that opposition teams tend to double and triple mark him.

In this respect, his reputation precedes him. By now everybody knows that if you are to stop Barcelona you HAVE to stop Messi. It’s little wonder then if play does break down; it’s breaks down with Messi. When you’re the most heavily marked player in Europe it’s not always easy to keep the ball.

What’s more, he’s the man Barcelona rely on to take risks, to go for the killer ball and attempt to make things happen. The fact that Messi can’t always pull this off doesn’t really make for an interesting statistic. What’s important is that more often than not, he does exactly what Barca requires of him.

It ought to be remembered that Messi is still the player who has completed more dribbles than any other player in Spain and has completed more passes than any other player – including Cristiano Ronaldo.

Despite these recently released stats and despite the Cristiano fanboys loudly voicing their opinions, one thing remains clear: Lionel Messi is still the best player in the world.

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