Benjamin Morris a writer for FiveThirtyEight blog (part of espn.com) writes an article with data and facts proving why Messi is far and away the best football player right now. He compares Messi to other high volume shooters and assist men in the game and shows that Messi is just impossible. Good read for those of us that like to argue about Messi or Ronaldo.

" By now I’ve studied nearly every aspect of Messi’s game, down to a touch-by-touch level: his shooting and scoring production; where he shoots from; how often he sets up his own shots; what kind of kicks he uses to make those shots; his ability to take on defenders; how accurate his passes are; the kind of passes he makes; how often he creates scoring chances; how often those chances lead to goals; even how his defensive playmaking compares to other high-volume shooters.

And that’s just the stuff that made it into this article. I arrived at a conclusion that I wasn’t really expecting or prepared for: Lionel Messi is impossible. (quote from article)"

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/lionel-messi-is-impossible/

Messi versus the rest (Total Number of goals and assists since 2010) - Messi and Ronaldo come out ontop. Note each circle represents a player

Messi is the 9th most efficient player when it comes to scoring goals per shot. Ronaldo has taken about 1.5 more shots per game than Messi.

Messi is the most efficient shot taker. He takes shot that are most likely to be scored.

He is deadly from every where.

Unlike a lot of players Messi is actually more efficient when he does things by himself compared to when he gets an assist from others.

Messi and Ronaldo are the best at knowing how to assist and score.

Messi as we know likes to take on defenders one on one.

And finally Messi is the through ball master.