It’s very unusual to see Lionel Messi’s name so far down in the bookmakers’ odds to win the 2018 Ballon d’Or award.Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric, Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe are all preferred to Messi, a five-time winner of the coveted award.Messi certainly hasn’t had a bad year. He won the La Liga title and the Copa del Rey with Barcelona and finished the season by adding a fifth Pichichi Trophy to his collection.But it was on the biggest stages where he faced his biggest difficulties. Barcelona were knocked out of the Champions League at the quarter-final stage and Argentina exited the World Cup in the round-of-16.And the past few years have shown just how much value is placed on flourishing in the biggest competitions when it comes to winning the Ballon d’Or.Still, Messi remains as talented as ever and his latest video for Adidas is pretty spectacular.Indeed, football fans are trying to work out whether it’s even genuine.

Video of Messi goes viral

The Barcelona star casually kicks a ball from one side of the pitch to the other - and straight through a reporter’s legs.

Is it real, or the work of some clever editing? You decide.

Some fans have been left stunned, with one writing on Twitter: “I’m convinced he ain’t human after this.”

But others don’t believe it’s genuine.

It’s similar to that famous Ronaldinho video from 2005, in which the then-Barcelona star repeatedly smashing a ball against the crossbar, controlling it when it comes back and hitting the crossbar again.

Sceptics immediately claimed it was fake, with many suggesting that editing was used.

But it was Ronaldinho, and he was capable of anything in his prime.

Messi is also capable of doing things that defy belief. So we should probably give him the benefit of the doubt.