#4 Supreme playmaker
This is what differentiates from the other goalscorers. Right now, people are beginning to see what he has been showing ever since he came to the scene. The thing is, they had a look at it before, but they were just so mesmerised by his brilliant dribbles and scoring prowess that they were blinded by it and failed to truly see his playmaking abilities.
For me, Messi was never really a goalscorer who could make plays. He is a playmaker that scores a lot of goals. It has always been that way. In the last decade, people have labelled a lot of players as the best playmaker in the world, starting from Andres Iniesta to Luka Modric.
But the truth is that Messi’s vision surpasses every other player in the world—and that pass in the Celta Vigo game is just one of the testaments.
Goalscorers have a limited timeframe. Messi himself realises that. As a result, he now plays deeper than he used to, which is why he has scored ‘only’ 25 goals from 30 games. Someone who is Lionel Messi and is in the form of his life should have more goals than games, but Messi is preserving himself for a prolonged career.
As a result, he is exploring his best asset—to make plays—and is getting the better out of the others around him. And midfielders last long… very long.