The problem is Messi

All great players in history go through bad spells. It's true that it has not happened to Leo Messi very often in the last decade as he and Cristiano Ronaldo have been the best in world football over that time. 

However, the Argentine is not going through his best spell as a footballer. As well as his goalscoring average which has dropped considerably as of his late, his performances have also dropped in other areas. 

In the game with Atletico Madrid this Saturday, the '10' lost the ball a total of 23 times at the Wanda Metropolitano. That is a large amount of time considering that he only gave 36 successful passes and did nothing of note in the match. 

Poor stats away from the Camp Nou

It is surprising that a Barca legend like Messi who is the best player in recent history does so little in away matches of late. This goes for both La Liga and Champions League fixtures. 

Leo has not scored a decisive goal away from the Camp Nou in the whole of 2020. That has led to the team not winning titles, getting knocked out of the Copa del Rey, the Champions League by Bayern Munich and missing out on La Liga to Real Madrid and a poor run post-lockdown. 

As well as his problems on the pitch, he is having problems off the pitch. After trying to leave last summer, the Argentine has got into a spat with Griezmann. The Frenchman's uncle spoke ill of the Argentine and Messi hit back. His drop in performances is evident and it remains to be seen whether he soon starts enjoying himself on the pitch once again.