Lionel Messi carves out unwanted piece of history in PSG's 2-2 draw against Troyes

PSG forward Lionel Messi has set an unwanted record of hitting the woordwork the most times in a single top-flight season.

The Argentina international hit the post in the second minute of injury time against Troyes, which marked the 10th time he has hit the woordwork this term.

No player has hit the woodwork more times in a single top-flight season since Opta started recording data for this metric in the 2006-07 season.

Marquinhos and Neymar found the back of the net to guide the recently-crowned French champions to a two-goal lead in the 25th minute. However, Ike Ugbo and Florian Tardieu scored to help the visitors leave the capital with a 2-2 draw.

However, Lionel Messi was unable to add to his paltry return of four league goals for PSG this season, with his shot that rattled the woordwork the closest he came to scoring.

Lionel Messi has had a debut season to forget with PSG

Messi joined PSG in a record-breaking free transfer from Barcelona last summer and big things were expected from him in the French capital.

Considering his exceptional abilities, many identified the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner as the missing link to guide the Parisians to European glory.

However, for a man who has been used to setting or breaking records every other week throughout his career, his debut season at PSG has flown by on a whimper.

Moments of genius from the Rosario native have been few and far between. His braces against RB Leipzig and Club Brugge and goal against Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League group stage were perhaps the only standout moments this season.

His no-show in the knockout round against Real Madrid left a bitter taste in the PSG fans' mouth and led to Lionel Messi being booed in the league after their elimination.

Domestically, he has fared even worse, with just four league goals scored in 24 matches. This marks his worst return in front of goal since his first season as a professional (when he scored one goal from seven league matches in the 2004-05 season).

However, his creativity is still on par and he has provided 14 assists for his teammates in the league.

It is foolhardy to classify Messi's PSG transfer as a disaster on the back of one poor season. The 34-year-old clearly still has the ability to influence games and has perhaps been unlucky, as evidenced by his woordwork record.

However, the club signed him to deliver on the big stages and the onus is on him to step up on the biggest stages next season to silence the critics.