Any defender that has played against Lionel Messi and hasn’t been left embarrassed is doing pretty well for themselves.

The Barcelona star has made it a habit to leave opponents wrong-footed, on the floor or humiliated in any other way.

The clip of Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng crashing to the floor after being fooled by Messi will feature in every single Messi highlights video made from now on.

Watching the 30-year-old with the ball at his feet is a sight to behold and it appears to happen more often now that he’s playing closer to the midfield.

"Yes, in the past year I have moved a bit deeper, getting to the goal from behind, unlike other years when I was more in the final third of the pitch," the five-time Ballon d’Or winner told Pepsi recently.

"So it's true that I have moved a few metres back, but still with the [same] idea of getting in the area and trying to score goals."

It’s a testament to Messi’s quality that he’s still able to produce incredible goalscoring figures. He’s scored 35 goals in all competitions and provided 16 assists for the Blaugrana.

Fabregas has shared a Messi story

Everyone has their own Messi story and Cesc Fabregas, who played in the same Barcelona side as Messi at the La Masia academy, has shared one of his own.

Speaking to TyC Sports, the Spaniard has explained how Messi managed to floor him in one of their first battles on a football pitch.

"There's one story which stays with me, others I can't tell you,” Fabregas said, per Sport.

“I had to defend against him and you know he's going to the left, and he does, but he still makes me fall to the floor.”

Fabregas has defended Messi's Argentina criticism

Ah, the famous Messi body feint. Fabregas isn’t the only player to have fallen for it.

The Chelsea midfielder also defended Messi, who has received plenty of criticism for failing to lead Argentina to World Cup or Copa America glory.

"When everyone lauds him for what he does, it doesn't seem normal to me that in [Argentina] they criticise him so much,” Fabregas added.

“I can't understand it because it's where he should be valued the most." 

Victory at this summer’s World Cup in Russia would be the perfect way to silence the critics.