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Goal Map Shows Where Lionel Messi Takes First Touch For All His Goals

An analyst has put together a goal map showing where Lionel Messi first touched the ball for every single one of his 648 goals for Barcelona.
It's just three weeks ago that Messi broke Pele's record of scoring the most goals for one club, not that Santos agree, as the six time Ballon d'Or winner grabbed his 644th goal for the Catalan giants.
The 33-year-old's goal against Real Valladolid was his latest as his form continues to get somewhere close to its best once again.
On the weekend he scored two more, including a beauty of a free kick, leading to a victory for his side over Granada to take him to 648 goals for the club.
Analyst Marius Fisher has plotted where Messi took his first touch in each goal, showing where he dribbled from and even his many free kicks are on the graph.
Here it is! Goal map of all 648 Messi goals for FC Barcelona.
- Marius Fischer (@Gegenpressing91) January 11, 2021
Plotted according to the FIRST touch he made (in a dribbling for example) before scoring. Freekicks are white.
The ones in & around the box - ok. But the amount of times he started nearly at the halfway line. ABSURD! pic.twitter.com/11p492Mr6K
How many more goals Messi actually manages to score for the La Liga giants remains to be seen, with a big possibility his time at the Nou Camp is nearly over.
He tried to get a move away from the club in the summer but when it was ruled his contract clause to leave for free had already ended for the year he decided to stay put.
With his contract actually expiring at the end of the season there's a good chance he could leave for free.
Manchester City and PSG are the favourites to bring Barca's all time top scorer to their clubs, the the French side including a clause that would eventually see the Argentina star move to MLS.
More MAGIC from Messi! :scream:
- Premier Sports :tv: (@PremierSportsTV) January 9, 2021
Granada were preparing for the free kick to go under the wall, so Messi went low into the other corner instead :clap: pic.twitter.com/trTUi3ElhA
Speaking recently about how he went about trying to leave in the summer, sending an official document saying he wanted to go, Messi said, "I spent the whole year telling [former president Josep] Bartomeu that I wanted to leave Barcelona.
"But the president always said 'No'. The burofax was a way to make it official. I thought I had completed a cycle. I needed a change. I wanted to go, Barca cycle was over.
"My kids were saying that they didn't want to leave, but I felt it was the best for me. I felt like a cycle was over."
Now everyone is waiting to see if Messi will stay or go.
Featured Image Credit: PA
Topics: Football News, Barcelona, Lionel Messi, La Liga, European Football