Lionel Messi has been ranked as the third best player in Europe this season in a controversial set of ratings.
Messi has struggled to produce his best form in his first season in French football since joining Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona last summer.
The 34-year-old has scored just four goals in Ligue 1 but has managed to provide 13 assists for PSG, who were crowned French champions last weekend following a 1-1 draw with Lens.
Despite his difficulties this season, Messi has been ranked as the third best performer in European football’s top five leagues, according to stats website whoscored.com.
The rankings are based on the average match ratings for players in the Premier League, La Liga, Ligue 1, Serie A and the Bundesliga.
The ratings take into account statistics from league matches such as goals, assists, clean sheets, pass success percentage and man of the match performances.
Surprisingly, Messi comes third on the list with an average match rating of 7.71 out of 10
Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski tops the rankings with an average match rating of 7.93, closely followed by Messi’s PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe with 7.91.
Lewandowski has scored 33 goals in 31 league games this season, while Mbappe has managed 22 goals in 31 league games for PSG.
Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema, the current favourite to win the Ballon d’Or this year, is joint-fourth on the list with an average rating of 7.68.
He scored twice against Manchester City on Tuesday night to take his goals tally for the season to 41, with 25 of those coming in league games.
Benzema shares fourth place with Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah, the highest-ranked Premier League player on the list.
Salah also has an average rating of 7.68 after scoring 22 goals in his 31 Premier League games this season.
Here’s how the top 10 looks:
1. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) 7.93
2. Kylian Mbappe (PSG) 7.91
3. Lionel Messi (PSG) 7.71
4. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) 7.68
5. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) 7.68
6. Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich) 7.63
7. Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig) 7.62
8. Ousmane Demeble (Barcelona) 7.60
9. Neymar (PSG) 7.59
10. Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund) 7.56.
