Seven times Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi is the holder of many records. On Sunday, the man established himself in yet another record book.
Messi set up Kylian Mbappe for the game-winning goal in the eighth minute, which ultimately led to a 2-1 victory for the team against Auxerre. The victory brings PSG’s total after 36 games to 84, giving them a six-point lead over Lens with two games remaining.
With this assist, Lionel Messi registered his 20th assist in all competitions this season, which, in conjunction with his 20 goals, brings his overall goal-and-assist tally up to 40.
Lionel Messi is the only player in Europe's top five divisions to score 20+ goals AND provide 20+ assists across all competitions this season. ✨ pic.twitter.com/vK4npYUy7N
— Squawka (@Squawka) May 21, 2023
Lionel Messi achieves 300 club career assists
In addition to his stellar performance against Auxerre, the 35-year-old reached a major career milestone by registering his 300th assist in his club career. Lionel Messi is the first player in history to achieve this remarkable feat and has been at the top of the club assists leaderboard for quite some time now.
300 CLUB CAREER ASSISTS FOR LIONEL MESSI 🐐 pic.twitter.com/xG5bOM8W84
— GOAL (@goal) March 11, 2023
In addition to this outstanding achievement, Messi achieved another milestone with his assist on Sunday.
PSG leading Ligue 1 ahead of the match vs Strasbourg
The Parisians have further solidified their position at the top of the Ligue 1 table with Sunday’s victory. With 84 points to their name from 36 games, they have a solid 6-point lead over 2nd place RC Lens. They have pretty much settled the Ligue 1 title, and a draw against Strasbourg will officially make them the 2022-23 Ligue 1 Champions, as only 2 games are remaining for RC Lens as well.
However, should PSG lose both of their remaining games, they would still be the champions given the current goal difference. The Parisians boast a massive 50 GD and 2nd place RC Lens currently has only 34.
Lionel Messi’s future is still cloudy
The 2022 World Cup winner had a poor start to life in Paris after joining PSG in 2021. This season, he has bounced back with 20 goals and 20 assists for PSG so far.
However, his future with PSG remains uncertain, as his current contract is running out at the end of this season. Rumors surrounding the player making a return to FC Barcelona as well as making a move to Saudi Arabia are going stronger than ever, and it seems like a contract extension with PSG is unlikely after the 35-year-old suffered many adversities during his time at Paris.
Where would you like to see Lionel Messi play next season? Let me know in the comments.
