Despite the shock at Anfield and the Cup final, 2019 has been a fantastic year on a personal level for Leo Messi.He has regained the attention of world football by winning the 'Best', the Golden Boot, the Golden Ball and the 'Pichichi', and has offered spectacular performances whenever he can.
To finish off a fantastic calendar year, Leo could do so in style, with another record. Anecdotal at this point, but that, when analysed with perspective, when he retires, will show his greatness even more.
The Argentine could finish off 2019 as the top goalscorer in the calendar in La Liga and in Europe. He has scored 33 goals since January, compared to the 31 of Robert Lewandowski. Others, such as Kylian Mbappe, are now four goals behind a Messi who could increase this number against Alaves this afternoon.
While the Pole is the closest (and they both have one game left to play), it seems that only Jamie Vardy can take away this honorary title from Leo. The English striker, who is reliving his youth at Leicester, is five goals behind Messi (28) but has three games in hand to catch up with the star before the end of the year.
Comparing the data in all competitions, Messi will not be able to finish 2019 as top scorer in all competitions, because Lewandowski, who is the top scorer in the Champions League and Cups, has a five-goal advantage. There it will be the Pole who is the leader of 2019 in a year in which he has shown some perfect football.