Lionel Messi Plays Worst Season, Barcelona Still Pleased

Barcelona is not giving up on Lionel Messi despite playing his worst La Liga season in over six years.

Completely the opposite of his long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who has been breaking multiple records this season, Messi is experiencing a goal scoring drought.

Since the 2013-14 season, when he suffered physical problems, “Leo” has never gone more than four games without scoring in LaLiga.

According to AS, whether the Barca captain is suffering from anxiety due to the drama within the club or not, that truth is Messi 's barren run started at Mestalla against Valencia in Week 21. The Argentine has continued his goalless performances in subsequent games against Levante , Betis and yesterday's meeting with Getafe .

Though Messi has not found the net in the said games, the 32-year-old has been actively attempting as he already has a total of around 30 attempts in the last few matches. On Saturday, Messi even tried to chip the keeper but hit the ball straight into Soria 's hands . The typical Messi seldom misses those kind of one-on-one chances but now, it seems that something has been bothering the Barcelona superstar.

But despite hitting one of the worst runs in his career, Barcelona has never let their captain down. In fact, Barcelona even boasted about how Messi has been “involved in 26 Liga goals” on their official website. The club also noted that after Messi “scored 14 goals and dished out 12 assists,” the Argentinian now tops both categories in the competition and is ranked second overall in the top European leagues.

Two-time World Cup winner and Brazilian legend Cafu even credited Messi for being “the history of Barcelona.” In a recent interview with Omnisport, Cafu said he believes Barca will always be closely linked to Messi no matter the situation. The 49-year-old also admits he can’t tell whether Messi will really leave Barcelona but believes the 6-time Ballon d’Or winner will always be an important part of the Catalans, Goal reported.

"Messi today is the man of Barcelona, he is the history of Barcelona. But if by his choice he decides to change the team, he will always be Messi and we will always be rooting for him," Cafu said.

"If Messi was named Sportsman of the Year it is because he deserved it all year through football, playing ball, bringing joy, having fun and making Barcelona bigger and bigger," Cafu pointed out.