Man City Defender Beats Lionel Messi In New Dribbling Stats

The top 15 ‘progressive’ dribblers in Europe’s top five leagues last term has been revealed by Reddit user u/ironnybest – and Lionel Messi is only in ninth place.

Messi is considered by many to be the best dribbler of a ball in the world – and one of the best ever to lace up a pair of boots.

There’s been countless solo goals attributed to the Barcelona superstar over the years, leaving defenders in his wake and applying the finishing touch.

However, there’s no room for the Argentine in the top five of this particular stat area.

Manchester City centre-back Aymeric Laporte sits marginally behind PSG winger Neymar at number two.

The Frenchman is a more progressive dribbler than Adama Traore, Lionel Messi or Eden Hazard, as per the stats.

This could be easily explained by the fact that teams sit deep against Man City, allowing the centre-back to have plenty of time on the ball and stride into midfield.

Few would be surprised to see Neymar at number one. He’s not one to shy away from taking on a man.

Messi being so low down on the list could be an indication of both his natural decline through age and a change of role at the Nou Camp, becoming less of a goal-crazed forward and more of a distributor.

See below the infographic on Reddit:

SEE ALSO | Lionel Messi Buys Life-Changing Gift For 8-Year-Old Blind Footballer

The post Man City Defender Beats Lionel Messi In New Dribbling Stats was first published on GoalBall.