10 reasons why Lionel Messi is on the decline

His goalscoring rate now is borderline patheticLionel Messi has only scored a paltry 37 goals in 34 games for Barcelona this season, at an average of 1.08 goals per game. The Messi of 2011-13 would spit on such a record. In the 2011-12 season, the forward scored 56 goals in 47 matches (1.19 goals per game), before banging in a staggering 72 goals in 50 matches in 2012-13 – a scoring rate of 1.44 goals per game.