Lionel Messi has shown that even at the age of 38, he is still a force on the football field. However, this does not mean that other players do not follow in his footsteps and may even surpass him in some areas.
And this is exactly what happened to the midfielder of the Peruvian team Sporting Cristal, who managed to beat Leo at the Latin American level in an important ranking that Leo usually leads.
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surpasses Messi in the prestigious ranking
The truth is that the Argentine “number 10” stood out not only with goal passes (he is the top assist provider in the football world) and goals, but also with accurate free kicks.
Nevertheless, Martin Tovara managed to score five goals in this way for Sporting Cristal last year, surpassing the Argentina captain. Leo, on the other hand, only scored three points.
According to @sofascore_latam, Tovara ranks first in this Latin American ranking with four goals, followed by Carlos Eze, Juan Camilo “Cucho” Herndez and Argentine Javier Sanguinetti with four goals.
Meanwhile, Messi and Inter Miami became Major League Soccer champions for the first time on December 6, marking the club’s fourth title since the number 10 arrived. In addition to this, they also won the 2023 League Cup, 2024 MLS Supporters’ Shield, and most recently the MLS Cup Eastern Conference title.
On the same note, individually, Leo won the Golden Boot award and the MVP award for the second year in a row this year. The player is expected to remain at the club until 2028.
Meanwhile, the Argentina national team captain won the World Cup in Qatar in 2022 and will defend that title if he decides to participate in the 2026 tournament.
Despite his desire to play in his sixth tournament, Leo said he still doesn’t know if he’ll be able to play there.
