Lionel Messi’s total assists for the current season is at 21, which is now officially the most ever by a single player in a single season in La Liga.
By reaching 21 assists for the 2019-2020 season of La Liga, Barcelona’s Lionel Messi adds another record to his already incomparable collection of individual achievements.
The star forward reached this milestone through Barcelona’s defeat of Alaves (5-0), wherein he not only provided an assist to Ansu Fati but also managed to score a couple of goals himself.
The Argentinian’s latest accomplishment may be considered extra special by many, most particularly for Barca’s own fans, mainly due to the fact that the previous assist record holder was none other than Xavi, the legendary Spanish midfielder who once played with Messi for the Catalan giants.
During the La Liga 2008-2009 season, Xavi had cemented his place in the history books, by reaching 20 assists in a single season. That feat has since been surpassed by his former teammate Messi, who finishes this season with an all-time best of 21 assists.
✨ H I S T O R Y ✨
With 2⃣1⃣ assists, Messi overtakes Xavi as the player with MOST ASSISTS in a single #LaLigaSantander season! 🐐#AlavesBarça pic.twitter.com/Lrx84HI2cJ
— LaLiga English (@LaLigaEN) July 19, 2020
Other records broken this season
Not only did Messi break La Liga’s all-time assists record set by his ex-teammate Xavi, but the Barcelona captain also managed to break other records as well in recent weeks.
Chief among these new achievements is the distinction of being the first player ever in Spain’s top-flight soccer league to reach at least 20 goals and 20 assists in the same season.
For this current season, Messi has finished with a total of 25 goals and 21 assists, while leading his team to runner-up place behind league champs Real Madrid.
By bagging 25 goals this season, the diminutive winger has claimed his seventh Pichichi trophy, which is awarded to the La Liga player who tallies the most goals in an entire season.
IT'S OFFICIAL! Leo #Messi wins the 2019-20 Pichichi Trophy, the seventh of his career, a new, all-time @LaLigaEN record! 🐐 pic.twitter.com/laAlgFMeAT
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) July 19, 2020
Messi’s tally of 25 goals for the season sees him secure a commanding lead over his closest La Liga goal scoring competitor, Karim Benzema of Real Madrid (21 goals).
Although Messi has won seven total Pichichis his whole career, this season’s trophy marks his fourth consecutive. In the all-time list, the next player with the most Pichichis won is legend Telmo Zarra of Athletic Bilbao, with six.
Beating Xavi to the all-time assists in a single season record is an already impressive achievement as it is, but Messi’s tally has also equaled another record, that of Bayern Munich’s Thomas Muller, for the highest single-season assist finish by any current player of the Top 5 European Leagues over the past decade, as noted by ESPN.
Featured image courtesy of YaNiS2017/Pixabay