Messi shows that he is the master of the 'Dark Arts' too

Magical; Mesmerizing; In Human; Purist; Miracle Maker; GOAT; Genius....... there are a lot more adjectives that can be used to describe the enigma that is Lionel Messi the chances of describing him with anything resembling dark arts is lesser than him not winning the Ballon d'Or next season.

Because the idealists believe he is the antithesis to everything that is wrong to football these days; a pure football player who plays on the opposition minds with his feet and not words; One who wins matches with his football skills and not diving skills; by creating and scoring goals and not controversies.

Simply put, he is the good guy of football. One who quietly goes about his game decimating opposition teams with a swing of his left foot rather than with a swing of his arm.

The pioneer with the master of Dark Arts

The term Dark Art is generally associated with the bad guys of football. Jose Mourinho - the man who popularised the term dark arts, Sergio Ramos' and Neymar's of football - players whom we love to hate.

Their drive and determination to win at all costs mean that they will try to gain an advantage in whatever way possible; either by poking the opposition's eye; or by committing an accidental and innocuous fool injuring their opponent's most dangerous player or by resorting to theatrics (diving, faking injuries, showboating).

People hate them not because of what they do; they hate them because they have mastered the art so much that they get away with it frequently.

Which is why it might be sick to the stomach for the idealists that the player who is supposed to be the opposite of all this has somewhat become part of the infamous group by practicing a bit of dark art himself as this week's first leg semi-final against Liverpool showed.

Messi has gone to extreme measures to keep his promise to Barcelona fans at the start of the season

The roots of his actions against Liverpool were sewn slowly over the past couple of years as Barcelona were unable to translate their domestic superiority into the continent as their fierce rivals, Real Madrid reeled off Champions League after Champions League, four to be precise.

It deeply hurt the pride of a man of Messi's stature which translated into his powerful speech in front of his fans at the start of the season where he promised to bring the champions league back to the club.

"We'll do all we can" were his exact words and boy is he a man of his words.

Desperation and determination would drive a man to do crazy things. Things people don't expect him to do and Messi has fallen into the same trap we inferior humans fall often.

Liverpool just like Manchester United two weeks before started aggressively and pegged back Barcelona and Messi was unable to influence as much as he usually does with his feet

The Messi we know usually brushes off with a smile after being subject to a cynical foul for the nth time in a match.

But this hungrier, meaner version of Messi in this season's champions league was different.

Spurred on by his partner Suarez's antics, Messi rolled over cynically after being subject to the faintest of body checks by Milner, with whom he has a chequered history (that Nutmeg in 2015 continues to haunt Milner even in his sleep).

The exact moment Liverpool knew they were doomed

He didn't stop at that. He waved an imaginary card at the referee before cheekily smiling as the cameras turned towards him. It looked like the devil's work.

There was more to it in the second half.

Taking nothing away from hid majestic and otherworldly free kick which might have been celebrated more frenetically if the goalscorer was not Messi, who has routinely made the absurd look routine.

While the goal will have delighted the idealists who champion him as the crusader of their cause, what he did just before the free kick would have made Sergio Ramos proud.

The diminutive Argentinian subtly threw an arm in the face of Brazilian Fabinho who was standing in his way. The incident went unnoticed by match officials, the kind of fouls Ramos, Fernandinho and Busquets have mastered over the years.

Messi showing the darker side to his game by throwing a punch at Fabinho

He even cheekily moved the free kick a few yards to the front. This is what dark arts are all about; Messi knew every inch mattered and therefore went to extreme lengths to gain those extra few yards.

Where Messi was fouled vs Where he took the freekick (Indicated by the x-mark)

While this nothing away from his brilliant free kick it just shows the lengths to which he is prepared to go to fulfil the promise he made to his fans and end the Champions League drought.

This is Messi re-booted. A bit of darkness and dirtiness added to his repertoire which makes him, if not already unstoppable even at his average.

Messi has done it all on the big stage, but it has taken him all these years to realize that to reach ultimate glory, you need a bit of darkness in you.

And that sounds like the death knell for all the idealists out there.