No one is surprised anymore that Lionel Messi, who is set to turn 39, remains one of the most influential players in the world. However, the fact that the numbers place him ahead of elite stars like Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane only further underscores his remarkable impact.
The CIES Football Observatory published a study on Wednesday examining the most influential players across the 67 strongest leagues in the world over the past 365 days, based on goals and assists. Lionel Messi finished in first place, opening up a significant gap over his closest challengers.
Messi recorded 59 goal contributions with Inter Miami over the last year, totaling 37 goals and 22 assists. That figure puts him well clear of the next closest player in the ranking, Harry Kane, who posted 42 contributions (35 goals and 7 assists) with Bayern Munich.
Further down the list is another MLS player, Anders Dreyer, who registered 22 goals and 19 assists with San Diego FC over the past 365 days. His 41 goal contributions were matched by Kylian Mbappe, who scored 37 goals and added four assists with Real Madrid.
Lionel Messi #10 of Inter Miami CF scores a free kick against Orlando City SC.
Age is no limit for Messi
Lionel Messi’s achievement in leading this list becomes even more impressive when considering the age comparison with his main competitors. The Argentine forward is the oldest player in the top ten, less than four months away from his 39th birthday.
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The players closest to him in the ranking are significantly younger: Harry Kane is 32, while Anders Dreyer and Kylian Mbappe are 27. In fact, to find a player older than Messi on the list, one must drop to 15th place, where Cristiano Ronaldo appears. At 41, he has recorded 31 goal contributions with Al Nassr over the past 365 days.
The other ranking Messi leads
The same CIES Football Observatory study also includes a different ranking system. Unlike the first list, which simply totals goals and assists, this alternative ranking factors in the relative difficulty of each league when evaluating statistical output.
To calculate that, a coefficient is created based on various criteria, such as clubs’ performances in continental and global competitions. That coefficient is then applied to goals and assists data, offering a more contextualized view of individual performance.
Even under that more complex formula, Messi remains the clear leader. With a coefficient score of 66.3, he ranks ahead of Kylian Mbappe (65.4) and Harry Kane (64.5). What makes that even more impressive is that while La Liga and the Bundesliga rank among the top leagues used to calculate the coefficient, MLS does not even crack the top ten. And yet, Messi still claims the top spot.
