The incredible stat that suggests Lionel Messi & Barcelona are better off without Neymar

Have we run out of superlatives for Lionel Messi yet? Probably not, and we never will.

The Argentinian maestro has had a magnificent start to the season even by his supremely high standards and despite some preseason concerns after Neymar left the club, Barca sits atop of the La Liga.

Messi has been running the show with eleven goals in seven La Liga outings and 14 in 11 overall.

Messi's career has seen him score a grand total of 532 goals in 626 games and he has scored over 40 goals in each of the last eight seasons, firing over 50 in five of those.

Considering Barca are five points clear of second-placed Sevilla already, it would seem as if they're not missing Neymar all that much since the Brazilian's €222 million move to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer.