Whilst the football world shouldn’t need another reminder of how unstoppable Lionel Messi is, the all-time great’s statistical dominance at the Copa America makes for a truly amazing read.
At the age of 34, Messi finally won his first major international tournament with Argentina as the Barcelona icon helped his side overcome Brazil in the final.
When the focus around how much the triumph meant to the forward shifted, like in this moment, football enthusiasts have now broken down just how impressive Messi was at the tournament.
Messi came away as the joint top scorer of the competition with Luis Diaz, but the superstar dominated in every other key attacking and playmaking category.
Messi came away with the most goal contributions, assists, shooting goals added (SGA, a combination of xG and xGOT), free-kick goals, through balls, chances created, passes made in the final third, shots and shots on target.
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Lionel Messi produced an international tournament performance for the ages ? pic.twitter.com/vpFjUAvijA
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) July 13, 2021
Messi’s numbers have been stacked up against those from the Euros and it tells a tale of true dominance, whilst the very same areas feats were split across 11 players in Europe, Messi was the clear frontrunner for all things in the final third during the Copa America.