The 10 defenders to OUTSCORE Messi this season, including Reece James & Bonucci

Carlo Garganese

• Updated: 4 May 2022 17:39 BST
• 3 min read

Lionel Messi’s goalscoring record has been so poor this season that as many as 10 defenders in Europe’s five major leagues have scored more goals than him.

Much was expected of Messi when he joined PSG on a free transfer from Barcelona last summer but his first season in Ligue 1 has been nothing short of dismal.

Despite winning the Ligue 1 title, Messi has fallen well below expectations from an individual point of view.

Incredibly, he has only scored four Ligue 1 goals all season.

This means that in Europe’s five major leagues of the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1, there are 10 defenders alone who have found the back of the net more times in league play.

Who has scored more goals than Messi?

The top-scoring defenders in Europe are Udinese right wing-back Nahuel Molina and Nantes' converted centre-back Andrei Girotto, who both have six strikes to their name.

There are then a bunch of defenders who have scored five goals.

Serie A seems to be the most fertile league for defenders to score goals. Leonardo Bonucci has netted five times for Juventus, as has Bologna teenage left-back Aaron Hickey.

Domenico Criscito has scored five goals for relegation-threatened Genoa, although all of these are from the penalty spot.

Inter right wing-back Denzel Dumfries has been a revelation in his first season at San Siro, scoring five times himself.

In England, Reece James is the highest scorer in the league with five goals for Chelsea. He was sorely missed when he had a spell on the sidelines injured earlier this year.

In Spain, Real Betis left back Alex Moreno’s five goals have helped them challenge for Champions League qualification.

In the Bundesliga, Freiburg centre-back Philipp Lienhart has been impressive in front of goal with five strikes himself.

But most embarrassingly of all for Messi, he has even been outscored by his own teammate Danilo Pereira, a defensive midfielder who has spent large chunks of the season at centre-back only to score five times.