5 reasons why Lionel Messi will be effective for 5 more years

Lionel Messi is to football, what David Blaine is to magic; the gold standard by which all others are gauged. There were spells during Barcelona's recent match against Sevilla where Messi just decided that the ball belongs to him and everyone else just seemed to agree. They did nothing because they could have done nothing.

This might be just my opinion but Barcelona have been pretty prodigal with their riches and have reduced from being the wildebeests of Catalonia to asylum seekers on Leo's ark. It is as much their prerogative as it is our desire to see Leo Messi breaking legs and twisting ankles sans any actual physical contact for at least a half a decade more.

The way he is going even at 30, this qualifies as more than just wishful thinking. Now Messi has put pen to paper on a deal that ties him to the club till 2021.

On that note, let me try to make my case as to why Leo Messi will be effective for at least 5 more years:

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#5 Athleticism - There is still no catching him

Messi still jinks past players like it's nothing

Sure, every once in a blue moon, Messi does get marked out of the game and makes a young fella's career in one night. But isn't that compliment enough? That people cry foul on the one night he fails to dictate terms or govern attacking realms is a reminder of just how consistently good he has been and he still is.

While a lot has been said about Cristiano Ronaldo's athleticism, Messi has been upending defences with pace, agility and guile to fuel and hardly ever reveals signs of slowing down.

Just last week against Sevilla, Messi was tormenting the Sevilla defence and he even kept the ball to himself for a good minute in the final third. There are few players who can do that other than Messi and even when he's on the decline, he'll still prove to be more than a burr in the saddle for all oppositions.

#4 He hasn't even flinched while there has been a deterioration of quality around him

A whole story in one photo

Barcelona, under Pep Guardiola, had several warehouses worthy of world-class talent running about at the Camp Nou. The holy trinity in the centre- Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets, the unequivocal quality up front owing to the likes of Ronaldinho, Messi, Henry, Etoo etc. made the Catalonian club the team everyone wanted to beat.

When Xavi bid adieu, Barcelona had Messi, Suarez and Neymar providing the muscle up front and we all know how that went. But now that Neymar has left for (debatably) greener pastures and Luis Suarez, at best, looking like an unimpressive imposter of his former self, Messi has all the more workload dumped on him.

The fact that Busquets and Iniesta are in the twilight of their careers and are no longer as unfaltering as they used to be is a source of worry to the club. But in spite of all the deterioration in quality around him, Messi has carried on without a hitch.

He already has 12 La Liga goals and 3 Champions League goals this season and on several nights, he single-handedly thrusts his team across the finishing line.

And of course, how can any football fan forget that night in Quito where Messi propelled the storied Albiceleste to the finals of the World Cup 2018 to be held in Russia. A feat that is, perhaps, the greatest individual achievement in the history of World Cup qualifiers.

Sorry, Becks. Gotta hand it to him.

Now how many players who are 30 years old are capable of pulling that off?

#3 Barcelona won't let him go and Messi will benefit from it

One club player?

Barcelona have a lot of plans for the upcoming transfer windows, or at least we hope they do. After missing out on several of their targets, the Catalan giants will be ready to splash the cash to bring in some quality reinforcements to bolster the midfield and attacking ranks.

While all of this is happening, Barcelona will be hoping that they wouldn't need to tie Messi to a rope and threaten him with a blade so that he won't move out. Imagine this Barcelona team sans Messi trying to mount a challenge on all fronts.

So it's a given that La Blaugrana will try to make the greatest player of his generation stay put by hook, line or sinker. This will, in turn, benefit Messi. The diminutive Argentinian genius has been a one-club player and the La Masia philosophy is his credo.

It's not that Messi will struggle elsewhere for we all know that players across the world have been disgraced and humiliated by his magic. But at the age of 30, leaving the place that's been your home all your life is set to trigger a whirlwind of emotions and the freshman tag just won't suit Messi.

#2 Technical proficiency means Messi can play the Xavi or Iniesta roles

You always wanted them on your side

Magnetic feet and stupefying finishing skills are not the only reason why Leo Messi is one of the GOATS of the game. He is excellent at finding space and being as evasive as a goddarn merlin.

Messi is no poacher or fox in the box who latches on parried loose balls. He scores just as well as he creates. Leo is not just good at finding space for himself, he offers the service of providing it to the players around him.

Messi is a great passer of the ball and has great positional awareness. Even if he loses a couple of yards of pace, he will only become identical to Iniesta. While you can't underplay the creative brilliance of the Spanish wizards, if Messi can't fill in their shoes, who can?

Messi is perhaps, the most effective when he is deployed as a false nine and that's essentially a more centralized role than anything else. Given his eye for the game and the awe-inspiring precision with which he executes all that is demanded of him, Leo should have no problem pulling the strings in midfield.

It'll just be Messi in fourth gear. But it's still Messi all the same.

#1 He has never been sidelined for too long

It's never too bad, is it?

We have seen the careers of so many talented players get wound up by injuries. Santi Cazorla is a very good example from the recent past. The basic rule of all competitions- you gotta show up for the competition. And Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been locking horns for about a decade and that's owing to their incredible fitness levels and insusceptibility to injuries.

The longest period of absence in Messi's career came in 2013/14 when he tore a muscle. He was ruled out for 60 days and missed 10 games and that was that. He came back to the Camp Nou like he had only been gently pricked by a thorn and carried on doing what he was doing anyway (dominating Europe of course).

Zlatan Ibrahimovic recently returned from a career-threatening injury at the age of 36. That's just what champions do. And lord o lord, Messi is definitely one if there ever were any. The fact that he is not prone to injuries will go a long way as he is welcomed by the lax 30s.