Men's Player of the Year: the case for Messi

After missing out on being among the final three nominees for the 2015/16 prize, Barcelona's Lionel Messi is back in the running for the UEFA Men's Player of the Year award.

• UEFA Men's Player of the Year nominees
• The case for Gianluigi Buffon
• The case for Cristiano Ronaldo

Messi's 2016/17 in numbers

Honours: Copa del Rey

Domestic league
Appearances: 34
Goals: 37
Assists: 9

UEFA Champions League
Appearances: 9
Goals: 11
Assists: 2

Does Messi make your Fantasy team for this season?

Season summary

It was another remarkable season from Messi, who ended the campaign as top scorer in the Spanish Liga and helped the Catalan giants lift the Copa del Rey.

There was the customary glut of goals – including memorable UEFA Champions League hat-tricks against Celtic and Manchester City – but 2016/17 will also be remembered as the season that the Argentinian assumed ever more playmaking duties, dropping deeper to pull Barcelona's strings.

This was clearly illustrated in Messi's influential role in the 6-1 win against Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg, as well as his man-of-the-match showing versus Alavés in the Copa del Rey final.

Messi's best moments

1) Clásico double at the Bernabéu
The image of Messi standing proudly, displaying the name and number on the back of his shirt to the Santiago Bernabéu crowd, will live long in the memory. With victory required to take Barcelona top of the Liga ahead of Real Madrid, the No10 struck early and then – with ten seconds left and the scoreline 2-2 – remarkably late, firing past Keylor Navas from the edge of the area. The late winner was Messi's 500th senior goal for Barça.

2) Hat-trick against Manchester City
Messi's second UEFA Champions League treble of the season came on matchday three against Man. City. The maestro served notice that he was in the mood on 17 minutes when he rounded former team-mate Claudio Bravo and finished with aplomb. Two further goals followed after half-time, with Messi reminding erstwhile boss Josep Guardiola of his prodigious talent.

3) Performance against Paris Saint-Germain
Sergi Roberto and Neymar may have stolen the instant headlines, but Messi was typically brilliant in orchestrating the biggest UEFA Champions League comeback in history. He coolly converted a 50th-minute penalty to make it 3-0, before taking the captain's armband in the closing stages and marshalling his side to a historic result.

The case for Messi

Messi shone brightest amid Barcelona's galaxy of stars in 2016/17. Restored to his peerless best, he was nine goals clear of the rest as the Liga's premier marksman (or Pichichi). In fact he averaged over a goal a game in both league and UEFA Champions League and almost single-handedly led the Blaugrana to Copa del Rey glory.

It is commonplace to understate his brilliance, but Messi accepted more responsibility than ever for Barcelona last term and thrived. While there may have been just one trophy to show for his efforts, there were countless memorable moments to add to the Messi showreel.