Barcelona players dominate the list of candidates for the Player of the Season in La Liga so far in 2010/11 with phenomenal playing statistics, although they're not the only players who have impressed this season.
Once again Ballon d´Or winner Lionel Messi has been in electric form and is accompanied by Barca team-mates on our shortlist, with Pedro, Villa, Iniesta and Xavi all in devastating form. For Los Blancos Cristiano Ronaldo is in prolific form and catching the eye with his goal scoring antics, and these players are joined by Villarreal's Guiseppe Rossi as the top-performing striker outside of Spain´s "big two".
The statistics supplied by Castrol highlight the impressive form this collection of players have been in, with varying individuals excelling in different areas of the game. When it comes to mazy runs and dribbling the ball it may not surprise that Lionel Messi is leading the way having embarked on 167 dribbles compared to closest rival Cristiano Ronaldo on 121. Although Ronaldo has netted one more goal than Messi and created 45 chances for his team-mates compared to Messi's 41, unfortunately his team-mates have let him down though as Messi can boast 14 assists.
When it comes to passing the ball though, it's Xavi who has been the most outstanding. There's no denying Xavi is a midfield general and a pass master, but no-one comes near Xavi for passing excellence. Unbelievably he's passed the ball more times than minutes he's been on the pitch with 1780 passes in just 1365 minutes, and a 94% success for pass completion!
We recently compiled similar statistics for the best players in the English Premier League, but you have to say the player statistics for the Primera Division are quite exceptional! We'd find it difficult to select just one individual, but we'd love to hear who you would pick as the La Liga Player of the Season 10/11...