Lionel Messi was in typically scintillating form against Valencia on Sunday night.The Barcelona superstar netted a brace in a 4-2 victory for the Catalan giants. They were his 40th and 41st goals of the campaign. And this means that for eight successive seasons, Messi has now scored 40 goals or more in all competitions. A remarkable achievement."It's amazing, he's broken every record and will continue to break more," Luis Enrique was quoted as saying by Sky Sports after the match. "How marvellous it is to enjoy Messi, no-one can touch his numbers, it's impossible for anyone to do what he has done apart from him. We'll miss him when he's gone."”He is the best of all time and we've gotten used to him doing this,” Gerard Pique, who reportedly hasn’t received an invite to Messi’s wedding this summer, added."He has made it seem normal but we know how difficult it is and when he stops playing it'll be very difficult for anyone to surpass those numbers. We just need to enjoy the years we have left with him."

Messi picked up bizarre yellow card v Valencia

However, Messi’s night was soured a little by a bizarre yellow card he picked up during the closing stages of the match.

The Argentina international stood inside the penalty area while Valencia goalkeeper Diego Alves lined up a goal kick and wouldn’t move.

He continued looking around before referee Alejandro Hernandez was left with no other option but to book the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.

Watch the incident here...

Twitter thinks it was deliberate

It seemed most uncharacteristic from Messi - and Twitter believes the 29-year-old was deliberately wasting time in order to pick up a yellow card.

This guy called it...

Why Messi may have wanted the yellow card

But why would Messi want a booking?

Well, the yellow card was his fifth of the season and means he’ll miss Barcelona’s next match against relegation-threatened Granada on Sunday.

Had he picked up a booking in that match, he would have missed the home game against third-placed Sevilla three days later.

Given the choice, Messi and Barcelona would much rather he sat out the Granada game.

So, was it a deliberate booking? Have your say by leaving a comment below.