Lionel Messi breaks 150 Liga assists

It is often said that the true greatness of a striker should be measured not only by the goals he scores, but also the ones he sets up for his team-mates. And that’s a test that Leo Messi passes with flying colours.

After setting up two of Barça’s goals against Huesca, the Argentinian has become the first player to register 150 assists in La Liga since records started in the nineties.

Let’s take a closer look at that amazing stat.

Fifteen years of glory

According to Opta, since he joined the first team a decade and a half ago, nobody even comes close to Messi for Liga assists.

Messi currently sits at 151, and his nearest challengers have been his own team-mates Dani Alves (101) and Xavi Hernandez (91), followed by Cristiano Ronaldo (87) and current Betis man Joaquín (74).

32 different scorers

That’s the staggering number of players that have scored thanks to Messi passes. The most regular recipient has been Luis Suárez (23 goals), followed by Pedro (14) and Samuel Eto’o (13)

36 different victims

And that’s how many teams, with Huesca the latest addition, have been on the receiving end of GOAT-assisted goals. Getafe have been punished the most (12 goals), followed by Levante (11) and Real Madrid (10).

Doubling up

Messi has reached double figures for assists in 10 of the last 12 seasons, and on two occasions has managed to set up an impressive 18 goals. And with two in his account already in 2018/19, one assumes there are plenty more to come!