Lionel Messi was up to his usual tricks against Leganes on Saturday.

In another virtuoso performance in La Liga, the Barcelona star notched up his 45th career hat-trick and in some style, too. 

Messi opened the goal scoring in the 27th minute, curling home a delightful free-kick from 30 yards - his sixth of the season - to equal Ronaldinho's record for set piece goals in Spain's top flight.

He swiftly doubled his tally minutes later from Philippe Coutinho's through ball before Leganes clawed one back thanks to Nabil el Zhar.

It was Messi's day, though, with the Barcelona man completing his treble from Ousmane Dembele's pass as the 90 minute mark loomed.

Messi ran riot v Leganes

In other words, Leganes simply couldn't stop Messi.

They join a long list of teams that couldn't handle the 31-year-old and there will be many more to come with Messi in the midst of a fantastic individual season.

His statistics make for menacing reading at 41 goals and 14 assists in just 46 appearances this year.

And one man who seriously couldn't keep up with Messi was Ruben Perez J.  

The 28-year-old defensive midfielder became the latest opposition player to take their attempts at stopping Messi to a whole 'nother level.

When tracking the five-time Ballon d'Or winner in midfield, Perez literally manhandled the Barcelona star in an attempt to stop his run.

Perez wrestling with Messi

By the time the referee called for a foul, he was practically hugging Messi and it's credit to him that he even managed to stay on his feet. Take a look at the clip below:

Messi had every right to hit the ground yet he pushed to continue his run despite being blatantly fouled.

You could go for hours naming players who would have gone to ground long before play was broken up on this occasion.

It goes to show that, even when completely disregarding the rules of football, you're still going to struggle when it comes to stopping Messi.

With another hat-trick in the bank, Messi will now turn his focus to the Champions League and completing a season that's setting up an incredibly tight Ballon d'Or race.

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