7 moments of magic: Lionel Messi's best individual moments

On 16th October 2004, a 17-year-old wearing the Barcelona No. 30 shirt trotted on to the pitch in a Catalan derby against Espanyol at the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona. Much was expected of the teenager who replaced Deco that evening. But in the years that followed, not only did he meet the gargantuan expectations, he also achieved feats which were deemed impossible in modern football; he exceeded the expectations, and then some.Ever since he took his first step on the football pitch, Lionel Messi was destined to be a great player. Now at the age of 28, the Argentine has, seemingly effortlessly, established himself as arguably the best to have ever played the beautiful game.Messi has graced the game for over a decade now with feats of pure brilliance. The Argentine wizard seems to churn these moments of magic out of his hat at will.Perhaps no one has described Messi better than former Barcelona captain Carlos Puyol when he said, “There's a special part of Messi's brain allowing him to see the split-second chaos of football in his own personal super slow motion.”Or at the least that’s the most sensible one that is close to reality. For most football fans who have watched the Argentine in amazement for a decade, there’s only one explanation – the man is a magician.Here, we try to separate brilliance from pure magic and pick out seven moments which define the unparalleled genius of Lionel Messi’s footballing career.

#1 Goal against Real Madrid in 2011 UEFA Champions League semi-final

An El Clasico goal is always priceless. But one in the UEFA Champions League semi-final after making a fool of not one but six Real Madrid players at Bernabeu while a helpless Jose Mourinho looked on has to be sprinkled with fairy dust.

Messi latched on a Sergio Busquets layoff, used his fleeting left foot to go past as many as six Madrid defenders and finishing with his right past a furious Iker Casillas, as Bernabeu and Real coach Jose Mourinho looked on.

Every touch in the moved drips magic.

#2 Solo goal against Getafe in 2007

You don’t get to be an Argentinean prodigy and not get compared to the great Diego Maradona. Messi was no exception and the little Argentine decided to do to Getafe what another little Argentinean had done to England in the 1986 World Cup.

In 2007, Messi did his first ‘Messidona’ and beat six opposition players before rounding up the goalkeeper for a cool finish.

The goal couldn’t have been more planned. Both Messi and Maradona touched the ball 13 times, dashed past five players and shot past the sixth.

#3 Disallowed assist against Real Madrid in 2011 Copa del Rey final

Barcelona lost the 2011 Copa del Rey final to Real Madrid, and possibly the most well-remembered image from the match was the one of Lionel Messi’s tears after the match was over.

However, during the match Messi did bring out possibly one of the best exhibitions of dribbling and strength that modern football has witnessed. The Argentine dribbled from the half way line, going past multiple players and riding through challenges to set up team-mate Pedro with a brilliant through ball. Pedro obliged, but the goal was controversially disallowed due to the offside rule.

The match didn’t go the Argentinean’s way, but that bit of skill is possibly the most honest exhibition of Messi’s incredible talent.

#4 Solo run vs Eibar with two nutmegs in 2015

If you are a football fan in 2015, Lionel Messi going past five opposition players doesn’t seem like that big of a deal.

But a mazy run topped off with two nutmegs and a killer final pass makes this bit of skill worthy of making the exclusive list. This is possibly the best demonstration of close control ever exhibited by the Argentine.

Messi scored two brilliant goals in the same match, but this bit of magic truly stands out.

#5 Long shot vs Brazil in 2011

You would normally associate Messi’s arch rival Cristiano Ronaldo with cracking goals from a distance. But as most know it, Lionel Messi is no slouch when it comes to hitting one in from outside the box.

While playing against rivals Brazil in Argentina colours, Messi robbed the ball in the right flank and set out on a trademark run to reach the edge of the box. As defenders expected the Argentine to try and siege the box, Messi feigned the defender on the outside before unleashing an unstoppable curler to the top right side of the goal.

The goal completed Messi’s hat-trick as well as a 4-3 win against Brazil.

#6 First goal in 2005

As improbable it may sound now, it took Messi seven months to find the back of the net for Barca after his debut.

On May 2005, in a match against Albacete, an 18-year-old Messi calmly controlled a lofted pass up the left flank and fed the ball behind to Ronaldinho. The Brazilian unleashed a trademark cheeky return pass to find Messi who, in turn, chipped the goalkeeper with his first touch.

It’s impossible to argue that Messi’s phenomenal goal-scoring record started off with this bit of magic.

#7 Amazing pass vs Real Zaragoza 2012

You cannot play alongside the likes of Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez for years and not know how to pass.

In 2012, Messi pulled off this impossible pass through a packed Real Zaragoza defence. Hounded by five defenders, the Argentine managed to keep the ball amazingly well and slipped in a free team-mate with a wonderful cheeky pass through a jungle of legs.

Even Xavi and Iniesta would be proud of this piece of pure creativity.