Lionel Messi's epic 'Panenka free-kick' for Barcelona will never get old

Lionel Messi has left each and every one of us shell-shocked at some point in his career.

That’s what makes him so special, right? The Paris Saint-Germain star is one of the those once-in-a-lifetime footballers that are only ever a few games away from doing something that blows your mind.

Maybe you were brought to your feet by his legendary goal against Getafe, maybe one of this hat-tricks against Real Madrid left you smashing rewind, but we’ve all got our special memory with a man who puts the ‘beautiful’ in beautiful game.

Now, it might sound like we’re just gushing here, but there’s method behind the madness because a lot of what makes Messi such a sight to behold comes down to just how inventive he is with his game.

So many of those: ‘what have I just seen?’ moments are born from times where Messi rips up the rulebook and beats defenders, defies goalkeepers and runs the midfield in ways you never knew were possible.

Sure, there are flashes of Diego Maradona in there and shades of Garrincha to boot, but we’d still bet pretty confidently that many supporters would be able to identify the very uniqueness of Messi’s dribbling and skills in isolation.

But if you still don’t believe us, if you still think we’re just blindly head over heels for the Barcelona icon, then allow us to show you one of the clearest examples of when Messi turned on the genius.

No, we’re not talking about the pass-penalty and no, we’re not talking about a random dribble that led down a cul de sac, but rather the most unique goal that Messi has scored in his career.

At least, in our opinion, that is, because we’re talking about the day that the seven-time Ballon d’Or score a set-piece so nonchalantly that it became known as the ‘Panenka free-kick’.