Messi named February’s La Liga Player of the Month

Barcelona captain Lionel Messi has been named La Liga’s Player of the Month for February.

The Argentine has been in great form recently, scoring seven goals and picking up two assists for the Catalan giants in five matches last month.

Messi scored braces against Alaves and Elche as well as netting against Cadiz, Real Betis and Sevilla.

The Barca captain’s exploits saw him bat off competition from the likes of Alexander Isak, Yassine Bounou, Thibaut Courtois, Alex Berenguer, Nabil Fekir and Jose Luis Morales to scoop the award.

Messi’s goals have helped Barca move into second place in the table in Spain, just five points behind Atletico Madrid ahead of the weekend’s fixtures.

The 33-year-old is also now out on his own at the top of the goalscoring charts in La Liga. Messi has 19 for the season and is three ahead of nearest challenger Luis Suarez.