Messi carries his world-beating form into the new year

Posted Tuesday, January 24, 2017 by Marca.com

The world of football changes fast and yet one constant amidst all the mayhem remains to be Lionel Messi's sheer audacity as he leads his Barcelona team in their charge against LaLiga leaders Real Madrid.

While Cristiano Ronaldo flounders amidst Los Blancos' injury crisis, the man he beat to practically every individual honour in 2016 has started the new calendar year on fire.

Scoring in five of his six games of 2017, only missing out in the Copa del Rey win over Real Sociedad which saw Neymar assume penalty responsibilities, the Argentine has tightened his grip on the Pichichi by making it 15 for the season although Luis Suarez stubbornly clings to a currently-shared top spot.

It's all the more remarkable, then, that this tally is only Messi's fifth-best since his debut season in Spain; in which time he's managed 18 in the first half of the 2009/10 campaign, 19 in 2010/11, 22 in 2014/15, and a staggering 28 in 2012/13.

However one question still remains for Barcelona and their talisman. Of course, his ability is as undoubted as ever and yet with his contract situation still unsolved, the salience of his continued stay at the Camp Nou continues to be emphasised, week after week.