Lionel Messi at 35 Could this be PSG and

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To suggest the next 12 months may well define Lionel Me sis career would be doing a di service to what we have witne sed up close over the past 18 campaigns.From boy wonder to the greatest player ever in the view of many, and now into a new chapter with Paris  Brandon Manning Jersey Saint-Germain, the Argentina forward has nothing to prove to anyone.And yet on the day he turns 35  the average age of retirement for a footballer  questions continue to be asked of Me si.Will he win a World Cup  still in the eyes of many the real barometer of a truly great player, even in the era of the Champions League  before he retires?Can he prove himself in a different country after a mixed first season in France? Both of those questions will be answered before he celebrates his 36th birthday in a years time.Stats Perform looks at how Me sis game has already changed, and whether he is still capable of inspiring club and country to glory in po sibly the biggest year of his career.MESSI 2.0Ten months have pa sedsince the shock announcement that Me si was bringing an end to his 21-year a sociation with Barcelona to join Ligue 1 giants PSG.By his own high standards, Me sis first campaign in Paris was far from great. He scored 11 goals in 34 appearances, down on the 38 scored in his last season with Barca.And those 11 goals came from an expected goals (xG) value of 16.8, meaning he scored 5.8 goals fewer than he should have based on the quality of his chances.Among players in Europes top-five leagues in all competitions last season, only six others had a worse return, with Lille striker Burak Yilmaz (8.11 differential) topping the list.There were extenuating circumstances, of course, with Me si himself recently opening up on just how badly he struggled  Connor Murphy Jersey after testing positive for coronavirus in January.The La Masia product also had to adapt to life outsidethe place he had called home for more than two decades, seeing him take on an entirely different role.While his scoring figures dropped considerably, Me si set up 14 league goals  only once in his last five seasons at Camp Nou (21 in 2019-20) did he a sist more in a campaign.The majority of his a sists last season came from a left-of-centre position outside the box, where he predominantly played alongside Neymar and just off Kylian Mbappe.RONALDO SHOWS THE WAYThe 11 goals Me si scored at the age of 34 is his lowest return since the eight he netted when aged 18 and still in the infancy of his Barcelona career.While that can be put down to a change of scenery, and being in the unfamiliar role of having to play second-fiddle to Mbappe, age is also surely a factor.At 35  or 34 as he was last season  Me  Nicolas Beaudin Jersey si will inevitably have to rely more on his footballing brain than his legs to give him an advantage over opponents.As showed by Cristiano Ronaldo, though, age is just a number when it comes to the very best, the Portugal star having scored 75 goals in 102 games since his 35th birthday.Zlatan Ibrahimovic, four months shy of his Bobby Hull Jersey  41st birthday, has scored an impre sive 112 goals in 174 appearances since hitting 35, an age often perceived as being over the hill.ALL EYES ON QATARPlaying a supporting role may well be something we must come accustomed to when it comes to club level, but for Argentina Me sivery much still remains the main man.That was clear to see earlier this month when, in his final game in a gruelling campaign, Me si scored all five of Argentinas goals in their thumping friendly win over Estonia.That five-goal showing rightly attracted plenty of focus, though it was arguably four days earlier in his sides 3-0 Finali sima victory over Italy that Me si truly showed his quality.Me si pulled the strings from a slightly deeper position as Argentina, who also boast the likes of Lautaro Martinez, Angel Di Maria and Paulo Dybala, showed their credentials.He a sisted two of Argentinas three goals, including a delightful turn to leave Giovanni Di Lorenzo trailing in his wake before setting up Martinez for a simple finish.On the back of ending their 28-year wait for silverware in 2021 with victory at the Copa America, Lionel Scalonis men now look good value to challenge for the World Cup.Regardle s of any more titles he adds to his collection at PSG, Me si lifting the most famous trophy of them all in Qatar later this year would be the defining image of his career.Different now  Brent Seabrook Jersey he may be, but Me si has a chance to show in his 35th year that he has plenty more left in the tank to turn a great career into the greatest.