Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann have scored 40 and set up 18 goals combined in the 2020/21 La Liga season.
Messi:
- Games - 32
- Goals - 28
- Assists - 11
Griezmann:
- Games - 32
- Goals - 12
- Assists - 7
As things stand now, the Barcelona pair are the second best duo in terms of goal contributions in the European top five leagues with Bayern Munich tandem of Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller ahead of them with 46 goals and 24 assists combined in the current Bundesliga campaign.
Lewandowski:
- Games - 26
- Goals - 36
- Assists - 6
Muller:
- Games - 29
- Goals - 10
- Assists - 18
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Messi joins Lewandowski at the top of 2021 goalscoring chart after Valencia brace
Lionel Messi scored his 25th and 26th goals across all competitions since the turn of the year in Barcelona's 3-2 win at Valencia on Sunday.
Thus, the Argentine is now level on goals with Robert Lewandowski in 2021.
Kylian Mbappe, meanwhile, completes the top three with 23 strikes in the current calendar year.
Messi will try to extend his lead over the Bayern Munich and the Paris Saint-Germain strikers in Saturday's clash with Atletico Madrid that could prove to be a vital match in the 2020/21 La Liga title race as Barca are now two points behind Diego Simeone's men in the table.
Puyol pays Cristiano a huge compliment… before reminding the world Leo Messi is better
In an interview back in 2017, Barcelona legendary captain Carles Puyol was asked to pick the better between Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Although the ex-defender started off by paying a compliment to the Portuguese, he briefly reminded everyone that Messi was better.
"Ronaldo is one of the best players in the history of the game but Messi is better.
"The competitiveness and rivalry between them is very intense and I think that has helped to improve them both because neither man relaxes.
"For me, Messi is the best. I have played with him and he has given me so much happiness. He is always improving and has been consistent for 10 years.
"I actually think that he gets better with every season and that is because of the passion he has. I hope that he wins something with his country. That would mean that aside from winning with his club, he will have won everything with everyone."
The Messi/Ronaldo debate remains one of the most ardent ones in modern football even with the two superstars arguably past their peaks. Even with them playing in different leagues, the fans continue to compare them.
