{"id":1748,"date":"2025-11-03T18:10:46","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T10:10:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/?p=1748"},"modified":"2025-11-03T18:11:02","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T10:11:02","slug":"lionel-messi-winds-back-the-clock-with-world-cup-looming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/03\/lionel-messi-winds-back-the-clock-with-world-cup-looming\/","title":{"rendered":"Lionel Messi winds back the clock with World Cup looming"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At 38, Lionel Messi continues to defy Father Time. In 2025, the Argentinian has contributed to 62 goals, his second-best return since 2020. His average of 1.27 direct goal involvements per game is also his second-highest in the last six calendar years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite a 2-1 defeat to Nashville<\/strong>, which forces Inter Miami<\/strong> into a play-off decider to keep their Major League Soccer hopes alive, Lionel Messi<\/a><\/strong> was once again on the scoresheet. The goal proved inconsequential, but it underscored the magnificent form<\/strong> of the Argentinian superstar who, as he approaches 40, is enjoying one of his most productive spells in recent times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That latest strike took the Rosario native to 42 goals and 20 assists<\/strong> in 2025<\/strong> for both his club<\/strong> and, of course, Argentina<\/strong>. These figures are reminiscent of his best seasons at Barcelona, recalling the glory days of 2022<\/strong>, which culminated in Lionel Messi lifting the World Cup trophy in Qatar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In terms of goals, his 42<\/strong> this calendar year is his second-best return since 2020<\/strong>. Only the 43 goals<\/strong> scored in 2021<\/strong> surpass this figure. However, Messi still has time to surpass that mark, and his average<\/strong> is considerably higher<\/strong>, having reached 42 in just 49 games (0.86 per game)<\/strong>, compared to 43 in 61 appearances in 2021 (0.70)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If all goes well, Messi should surpass this mark, falling just short of his 2019<\/strong> form, when he notched a remarkable 50 goals in 58 games<\/strong> (0.86 per game) for FC Barcelona, with whom he won La Liga that year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Averaging 1.27 attacking contributions per match<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Looking at the broader picture, including assists, Messi’s attacking contribution in 2025 (62)<\/strong> is only surpassed in the last five years by his 2022<\/strong> form. Back then, playing for PSG and Argentina, he was directly involved in 65 goals<\/strong> (35 goals and 30 assists) in 51 games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just three goals or assists away from equalling that figure, his average remains the same<\/strong>, with Messi contributing to his team’s goals in both 2025 and 2022 on 1.27<\/strong> occasions per game. This is his second-best average since 2019<\/strong>, behind only 2024<\/strong>, when he averaged 1.31<\/strong> after scoring 29 goals and providing 18 assists in 36 games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, on the verge of his second-best goal-scoring year and his best contribution rate in the last six years, it seems clear that Messi has plenty left to offer<\/strong>. Inter Miami<\/a> recognise this (hence the extension of the MLS Golden Boot winner’s contract until 2028<\/strong>), and in Argentina<\/strong>, fans are hoping that their number ’10’ can maintain this level to lead the ‘Albiceleste’<\/strong> in their defence of the global title in 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At 38, Lionel Messi continues to defy Father Time. In 2 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1749,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1748","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1748"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1748\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1751,"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1748\/revisions\/1751"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dxtynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}