Messi himself would tell that you're wrong, stats or no stats. Just look at this photo link [1], you've got one of the best forwards in the history of Argentinian football, Kun Aguero, carrying Messi on his shoulders just to reproduce, as an homage, that iconic Diego photo from 1986. Diego is a religion in Argentina (and not only).
Spartans are considered to be top -tier warriors of ancient world, while in the reality their actual military record is, at best, very average among their peers [0]. But they were extremely good with the PR, and have a cerrain cult following.
[1] https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FkSY4BDWQAEug3L?format=jpg&name=...