The Barça number 10 has missed just two Cup games - the first leg against Ceuta and the return game against Almeria- the league game against Almeria, which he missed after Guardiola had given him permission to extend his Christmas holidays, and two games following the injury inflicted on him by Ujfalusi at the Vicente Calderon.

More minutes than any other player

Pedro and Keita have both made as many appearances as Messi, but have played a lot less, because the Argentinean normally makes it through the whole 90 minutes, In fact, he’s only been subbed once all season – for the last five minutes of the 5-0 win over Betis, and has started in 36 of the games. All that means that he’s put in a total of 3.487 minutes so far this season, ahead of Alves with 3,386, Iniesta with 3,344 and Piqué with 3,318.

More games than ever

In the treble winning season, Messi ended up making 53 appearances, three more than last year’s total and it looks like he’ll be putting in the same stats this time round. He’d played in 40 games at this stage of those campaigns, two less than he’s put in so far this season – a stat that reveals how strong he has become, as he continues to turn on the style week in and week out.