Continuing to excel! Messi is infinite again this season

Although Lionel Messi may already be looking ahead towards retirement, his performances will last forever, as he makes sure with each passing game.

His latest exhibition against Real Mallorca included a golden hat-trick and also helped him to achieve some incredible statistics.

At 32 years of age, he missed the first four games of the 2019/20 LaLiga Santander season due to injury but is already the top scorer with 12 goals in 10 games, now surpassing Karim Benzema's 11 goals, with the French striker having played 14 games.

His fitness issues cost him early on, not scoring his first of the season until October 6 against Sevilla, but he has scored in every league game since, apart from one blank against Leganes.

They have been split between one strike against Sevilla, Eibar, Levante and Atletico Madrid, a brace against Real Valladolid, and a hat-trick each against Celta Vigo and Mallorca.

His goal per game average is among the best in his career at 1.2, only being beaten by his record of 1.44 in 2012/13 and 1.35 in 2011/12.

"It's another day in the office, he's spectacular and those of us who share our day to day with him can only enjoy what he does," Sergio Busquets said after the Mallorca victory on Saturday night.

"The thing about retirement was taken out of context; we know that he has a way to go yet."

With his hat-trick against Mallorca, his 35th in LaLiga Santander, he also overtakes the 34 that Cristiano Ronaldo, now at Juventus, achieved, with four goals on four occasions and 31 hat-tricks, compared to five goals on two occasions, four goals on four occasions and 28 hat-tricks for Cristiano.