Lionel Messi has been back to his old self for much of 2022.
The year of 2021 was tough for the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner. He had to leave boyhood club Barcelona due to their woeful financial situation and sign for Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer.
Messi initially struggled to adapt to his new surroundings in France, but we can say for certain that he's found his feet now.
In 2022/23, the diminutive maestro has been in sparkling form. He's already matched his tally of 11 goals from last season and is currently Europe's highest-rated player over on WhoScored.
Messi has also been assisting goals aplenty for both PSG and Argentina over the course of 2022 thus far.
In fact, no player in Europe has more assists for club and country combined since the start of the year.
Don't believe us? Well, check out the numbers provided by the very reliable folks over at PopFoot...
HARRISON, NEW JERSEY - SEPTEMBER 27: Lionel Messi #10 of Argentina warms up before the friendly match against Jamaica at Red Bull Arena on September 27, 2022 in Harrison, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
The 10 players with the most assists for club and country in 2022
10. Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid and Brazil)
Games: 51 | Assists: 14 | Assists-per-game: 0.27
9. Mason Mount (Chelsea and England)
Games: 50 | Assists: 14 | Assists-per-game: 0.28
8. Dominik Szoboszlai (RB Leipzig and Hungary)
Games: 48 | Assists: 14 | Assists-per-game: 0.29
7. Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain and France)
Games: 44 | Assists: 14 | Assists-per-game: 0.32
6. Alassane Plea (Borussia Monchengladbach and France)
Games: 28 | Assists: 15 | Assists-per-game: 0.54
MOENCHENGLADBACH, GERMANY - AUGUST 06: Alassane Plea of Moenchengladbach reacts during the Bundesliga match between Borussia Mönchengladbach and TSG Hoffenheim at Borussia-Park on August 06, 2022 in Moenchengladbach, Germany. (Photo by Frederic Scheidemann/Getty Images)
5. Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil)
Games: 36 | Assists: 16 | Assists-per-game: 0.44
4. Rafael Leao (AC Milan and Portugal)
Games: 46 | Assists: 17 | Assists-per-game: 0.37
3. Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona and France)
Games: 41 | Assists: 18 | Assists-per-game: 0.44
2. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City and Belgium)
Games: 44 | Assists: 24 | Assists-per-game: 0.55
- Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain and Argentina)
Games: 40 | Assists: 24 | Assists-per-game: 0.60
LISBON, PORTUGAL - OCTOBER 05: Lionel Messi of Paris Saint-Germain celebrates after scoring their team's first goal during the UEFA Champions League group H match between SL Benfica and Paris Saint-Germain at Estadio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica on October 05, 2022 in Lisbon, Portugal. (Photo by Octavio Passos/Getty Images)
So, not only does Messi have the joint-most assists in 2022, he has the best assists-per-game ratio among those in the top 10.
The man is averaging an 0.60 assists per match, while he also has the second-most goal contributions of any player in Europe this year, behind only Mbappe.
Who has the most goal contributions for club and country in 2022?
https://twitter.com/mvsrapp/status/1585753783069716480
Yeah, that's just not normal for a 35-year-old.
But as we all know, this is no ordinary footballer we are talking about and the way Messi has played in 2022, an eighth Ballon d'Or triumph simply cannot be ruled out.
Especially if Argentina win the World Cup in Qatar later this year...