Lionel Messi Surpassed By Unlikely Midfielder In New La Liga Ranking

An Atlético Madrid midfielder from Ghana beats Lionel Messi in new LaLiga rankings.

LaLiga’s top 5 best dribblers of the 2019/20 season have been revealed. And to everybody’s surprise, Atlético ’s Thomas Partey topped the list, beating several stars including Barcelona captain Messi.

The six-time Ballon d’Or winner has been highly regarded for his magnificent dribbling skills. However, Partey stole the spotlight and gave Atlético Madrid something to be proud of once again.

The Ghanaian midfielder did not only surpass Messi, who was ranked fourth, a spot below his Barca teammate Frenkie De Jong, he also beat André-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Éver Banega.

Opta compiled the data that shows the top 5 most successful dribbles with 50+ dribbles attempted this season. Partey recorded a staggering 81.8% success rate. He is closely followed by Cameroon and Villarreal midfielder Zambo-Anguissa who had 81.1%. The two Africans who emerged at the top 2 were followed by Barcelona youngster De Jong with an impressive 74.5% success rate. Messi on the other hand, did quite good as well with 67.3%. Banega closed the top 5 with 66.1% success rate.

Before the lockdown, Atlético Madrid weren’t having their best season but Partey still managed to capture the hearts of Rojiblanco fans with his revamped playing on the pitch. The 26-year-old significantly improved his stats which some pundits believe was one of the reasons the team is still having hopes for next season’s Champions League spot. In fact, Partey even played a huge role in Diego Simeone's men when they eliminated Liverpool from the UEFA Champions League in March.

Another LaLiga midfielder impressively exceeded one of Messi’s long-standing records this season. Since his 2016-2017 campaign, Messi has been the most creative player in the league. The Argentine icon has been exceptional in setting up goals for his Barcelona teammates. And to put this into context, the 32-year-old has registered a staggering tally of 46 assists since his 2016-2017 campaign. The said tally is more than any other active LaLiga player.

In the Barcelona star’s 313 chances made since 2016-17 campaign, 55 came from this season making him the title holder of the said category.However, after a long period of time, Messi’s incredible record is finally broken. A Levante midfielder named Jose Campaña exceeded Messi 58 (chances created) to 55 to become the most creative player in LaLiga this season. Before the lockdown, Campaña is averaging 2.26 chances created per 90 minutes that go along with 5 assists.