Revealed: Messi missing from stat leaders in Europe's top five leagues
With all of Europe's top five leagues done and dusted, now is the ideal opportunity to look at those that excelled in particular areas. Who completed the most dribbles? Who won the European Golden Boot? Who won the Golden Glove? All will now be revealed...
Most Goals - Ciro Immobile (Lazio) - 36
Transfermarkt Value - £36m
Ciro Immobile ended up two clear of Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski in the Golden Boot race across Europe's top five leagues. The Lazio striker scored more goals than 24 teams managed as squads in Europe's top five leagues.
Most Assists - Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich) - 21
Transfermarkt Value - £27m
Thomas Muller finished top of the charts alongside Lionel Messi but pips the Barcelona ace on fewer minutes played. Muller racked up as many assists as Messi despite playing 10 hours less football. A return of 21 assists is also a Bundesliga record in a single season.
Most Shots - Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) - 208
Transfermarkt Value - £54m
Cristiano Ronaldo became the first Juventus player in 60 years to reach 25 goals in a single Serie A campaign this season and ended up with 31 to his name. It's not surprising he scored so many given he attempted at least 49 more shots than any other player in Europes top five leagues (208). In fact, Ronaldo only attempted 26 fewer shots than French side Amiens managed as a squad in their 28 games.
Most Key Passes - Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) - 136
Transfermarkt Value - £108m
Part of Kevin De Bruyne will no doubt feel aggrieved he didn't finish top for most assists on the continent. The Manchester City ace did at least match Thierry Henry's Premier League record for most assists in a single season and he created at least 30 more goalscoring chances than any other player in Europe's top five leagues.
Most Dribbles - Adama Traore (Wolves) - 184
Transfermarkt Value - £36m
Adama Traore is a dribbling machine and it's no surprise the Wolves ace ranks top here. Though the fact he finished top on the continent is perhaps even more impressive when you consider he dislocated his shoulder four times during the 2019/20 campaign.
Pass Accuracy - Thiago Silva (Paris Saint-Germain) - 95.5%
Transfermarkt Value - £4.32m
Thiago Silva will leave Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the month after eight years and his next club will certainly pick up a finer passer of the ball. In 21 league appearances this season the 35-year-old only misplaced 68 of a possible 1495 passes.
Tackles - Aaron Wan-Bissaka (Manchester United) - 129
Transfermarkt Value - £36m
Aaron Wan-Bissaka reaffirmed his position as the best defensive full-back in the Premier League during his maiden campaign with Manchester United, completing more dribbles than any other player in Europe's top five leagues. Notably, Wan-Bissaka also completed 85.4% of his attempted tackles.
Clearances - James Tarkowski (Burnley) - 200
Transfermarkt Value - £18m
Burnley centre-back James Tarkowski cemented himself in the WhoScored Team of the Season across Europe's top five leagues, helped by the fact he made the most clearances across all five leagues.
Saves - Aitor Fernandez (Levante) - 156
Transfermakrt Value - £9m
Levante were able to finish 13 points clear of relegation in LaLiga this season and goalkeeper Aitor Fernandez certainly played his part, making more saves than any other shot-stopper in Europe's top five leagues.
Clean Sheets - Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid) - 18
Transfermarkt Value - £54m
After a rough first season at Real Madrid, Thibaut Courtois rediscovered his best form in 2019/20 to claim the Golden Glove award in Europe's top five leagues. The 28-year-old kept a clean sheet in 18 of his 34 league appearances, helping Madrid boast the best defensive record on the continent (0.66 goals conceded per game).
Show me a player who over the course of one season achieved over 20 goals and 20 assists? He still in my opinion had the best season of all players!
It's unfair with those who were injured or whose League were cancelled because of the coronavirus. This ranking should be per 90 minutes, not absolute numbers. Ligue 1 had only 28 matches, how would they compete in this ranking?
The dribble section is weird since Messi managed 5,5 dribbles per game, whereas Traoré could "only" produce 5 per game. Why he is picked as a winner for 184 dribbles in 37 games, instead of Messi with 182 dribbles in 33 games is beyond me. In all the other cases you always go by numbers according to time and games played. Here with Traoré you only consider the total number ...