Messi Is the Third Best Player in the World Despite Poor Debut Season in Paris

• Messi ranked the third-best player by stats website whoscored.com despite struggling in Ligue 1 this season
• Only Robert Lewandowski and Kylian Mbappe are ahead of the former Barcelona captain
• Benzema and Salah are behind Messi despite the duo enjoying a very good season in front of goal

Lionel Messi has controversially been declared the third-best player in the world this season. Even more bizarrely, the Argentine has been ranked ahead of in-form striker Karim Benzema.

Messi has endured one of his poorest seasons as far as goal returns are concerned. The 34-year old moved to Paris Saint Germain at the start of the season after contract negotiation talks with Barcelona failed.

He has gone ahead to win the Ligue One trophy in his first season but has only scored a paltry four goals in the league. The forward has however assisted 13 times. He unleashed a screamer from way out over the weekend to confirm PSG’s 8th title in 10 years.

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In as much as the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner has just shown glimpses of his quality, whoscored.com has ranked him the third-best player in terms of goals, assists and pass success percentage in League matches.

Other metrics used by the website include clean sheets and man of the match performances. Messi is third behind Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski and his PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe.

Lewandowski and Mbappe lead rankings

Lewandowski has been given an overall rating of 7.93 which is slightly better than Mbappe’s 7.91. The total score that a player can get is 10. Messi has a rating of 7.71.

Benzema and Salah share the fourth position with a score of 7.68. This latest analysis is bound to raise questions on how Messi is still ahead despite Benzema and Salah’s incredible seasons.

The duo are in a superb goal-scoring form with suggestions swirling around that the Ballon d’Or award is theirs to lose. Benzema particularly has taken Real Madrid on the verge of the La Liga title. The French striker has also been phenomenal in the Champions League as Real Madrid chase a record 14th crown.

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Salah on the other hand leads the race for the English Premier League Golden Boot. He has been the face of Liverpool’s unprecedented match to a historic quadruple. He could square it with Benzema for the Champions League trophy should they overcome their semifinal opponents.

There is a rare appearance for Joshua Kimmich at position five. For a midfielder to achieve a rating of 7.63 is no mean fete. He is ranked ahead of Cristopher Nkunku, Ousmane Dembele, Neymar and Erling Haaland who close the top 10.

Messi to stay in Paris next season

Messi is expected to stay in Paris for at least another season as reported earlier by Sports Brief. The French giants want to build their team against the diminutive attacker possibly under a new manager.

Speculation is rife that the Qatari-backed club could relieve Mauricio Pochettino of his duties as manager. The club will then attempt to lure Tottenham Hotspurs coach Antonio Conte to the French capital.