Lionel Messi has mastered his own unique skill and no other player in football is able to do it the same way.
Zinedine Zidane was king of the roulette turn, Zlatan Ibrahmovic has his kung-fu passes - and for Leo Messi it's the flick past a defender, dinking the ball over him before Messi rushes to collect.
Messi's skill collection is pretty much unrivalled - but nobody does this one quite like the Barcelona and Argentina No 10. Just watch and enjoy.
Messi may be a deadly finisher with 705 total career goals to his name as well as an expert passer. But it's always his close control of the ball that's the most breathtaking element to his skill set.
His 2012 effort against Getafe is often considered the peak example of a Messi wonder goal: slaloming through defenders' tackles on an astonishing solo run with the ball at his feet.
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But his flick trick involves doing the unexpected and quickly chipping the ball into the air, so that it totally evades the opponent, before Messi himself neatly picks up his own pass. The defender is left completely beaten.
It looks simple, but try it with an opposing player bearing down on you and it becomes apparent just how difficult it is to pull off just once, let alone so consistently.
The move requires a delicate touch, speed of reaction and anticipation as to exactly where the ball will go. All of which Messi possesses, of course.
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So sit back and enjoy Messi's trademark move in this compilation - and feel sorry for the defenders charged with stopping the 33-year-old on the pitch to this day.
Topics: Barcelona, Lionel Messi
