Argentine superstar Lionel Messi bagged a hat-trick as Barcelona trounced No.17 Tenerife 5:0 to return to the top of the table in La Liga yesterday. Messi, who is the top-ranked player in the world in the FTBL ranking at the moment, added a whooping 48.85 rating points to his tally to move just a sliver of the 300-point mark.

With a tally of 299.79 points in the FTBL system at the moment, Messi will now face a steep hill to climb in subsequent games as he tries to “defend” such a high ranking: he will face a plank of more than 30 rating points in our system in the next game, a consequence of the 3:1 win over Deportivo La Coruña. If he is able to repeat yesterday’s prowess, then Messi is sure to cruise past 300 points.

Messi has initiated a goals-scoring run that now stretches 5 straight games. This has allowed him to bag huge bonuses in the FTBL system. Even a single goal in the next game could be enough to push the Argentine prodigy beyond 300 points.