Argentine prodigy Lionel Messi grabbed the second place in our FTBL World Top 23 rating of best midfielders after a dazzling performance in Barcelona’s 6:2 thrashing of rivals Real Madrid yesterday in La Liga. Messi now has 193.21 points over all.

Lionel Messi scored 2 of the 6 goals conceded by Iker Casillas in what was a humiliation of the reigning champions in front of their home crowd at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Casillas, who until then topped our rating of best goalkeepers in the world, has now exited the FTBL Top 23. He lost 9 rating points and has just 120.81 points over all.
Messi earned 23.35 rating points in the game to overtake Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard (183.92 points).

The argentine is now second only to Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo (229.57 points), who was benched in United’s 2:0 win over Middlesbrough.