There are footballers and then there's Lionel Messi.

The Barcelona superstar has solidified himself as one of the greatest sportspeople in history over the last 15 years and everybody should savour the final years of his illustrious career.

There's still some time to go before we can expect Messi to hang up his boots, but it's never been more important to appreciate every last memory he gives us as he creeps deeper into his thirties.

For the moment, the coronavirus pandemic means that neither Messi nor Barcelona will be playing for months on end and that's led many football fans to YouTube.

The social media site has always been a gold mine for compilations of new signings, legendary footballers and some of the greatest performances the sport has ever seen.

Messi's perpetual brilliance

And given Messi's almost unrivalled skill, it should come as no surprise that entire channels are dedicated to his finest ever goals, assists, tricks, games and moments.

Out of all the Messi-doting channels, though, nobody does it quite like 'MagicalMessi', who has amassed a remarkable 799,000 subscribers for his regular video tributes.

The compilations always feature pain-staking editing and focus on areas of Messi's career that aren't necessarily given the air time they deserve. In fact, his latest video is a fine example.

Messi defying the laws of physics

Titled: 'Lionel Messi vs Physics', the montage is full of instances where Messi has curled the ball further than seemed possible and miraculously stayed on his feet when nearly being rugby-tackled.

The description reads: "Messi is a miracle. Many times, he is the smallest player on the pitch, but he still performs like the tallest and strongest footballer.

"He never dives, he teases gravity, he does the impossible and he beats the laws of physics!"

Slightly hyperbolic? Ok, maybe, but you watch the compilation and try telling us you didn't get goosebumps:

Even better with Ray Hudgson

The Ray Hudson commentary just makes it so, so good.

Yes, it's spectacular seeing Messi whip the ball seemingly 10 yards wide of the post and still score, but the simultaneous reactions from Hudson makes it even more goose-bump-inducing.

The player-turned-broadcaster can be heard lauding: "Messi knows the laws of physics, but they don't know him. It confuses Einstein, but it doesn't confuse Lionel Messi. 

"Sir Isaac Newton looks down from above and says: 'That gravity thing? Yeh, I was wrong.' They should name a constellation in the heavens after him."

Combine that with clip after clip of Messi dribbling past defenders who are doing everything in their power to chop him down and you have eight minutes of brilliance from the Argentine star.

If that hasn't put you in the Friday spirit, we don't know what will.