European Team of the Season: Right wing – Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

Barcelona’s treble quest was ended by Liverpool and Valencia in the Champions League and Copa Del Rey, respectively, but they were far and away the best side in LaLiga as they successfully defended their crown. Crucial to that was Lionel Messi, who with a WhoScored rating of 8.48, is our European player of the season. 

The mercurial Argentine rattled in 36 goals, that the most in Europe’s top five leagues, and with an additional 13 league assists to his name, Messi had a direct hand in 49 of Barcelona’s 90 LaLiga goals this season (54.4%). 92 key passes was enough to rank among the top 10 players on the continent, while 134 successful dribbles ranked among the top five. 

With Messi effectively dragging Barcelona to top-flight glory, it saw him win the WhoScored man of the match award an astonishing 17 times in 34 appearances in LaLiga as he more than warranted his place in the European team of the season.