There aren't many things that Lionel Messi can't do with a football.Throughout his career, the Paris Saint-Germain star has proven himself to be more than capable of the sport's most challenging tasks.Dribbling through a sea of defenders before scoring a wonderful solo goal? He's done it, on more than one occasion.30-yard free-kicks, delicious lobs, working himself out of a tight corner... he's done it all.
Messi's 2019 stunt: Real or fake?
The Argentinian's ability to astound knows no limits, but there was one stunt that he performed in 2019 that really divided fans in regards to whether or not it was genuine.
Messi was performing an advert for Pepsi when he posted a behind-the-scenes video on his Instagram account.
In the video, we see the 34-year-old place a bottle on top of a football before chipping the ball through a hoop.
The bottle, meanwhile, lands perfectly upright.
Borussia Dortmund's Erling Haaland wowed fans recently with his crazy three-ball penalty trick, although many were sceptical of the validity of the skill.
And that was also the case with Messi's stunt.
Some said it was real
Knowing what the six-time Ballon d'Or winner is capable of, some had no doubts that it was real.
Some said it was fake
Others, however, weren't convinced.
One fan who studied the video closely suggested the bottle changes speed while landing.
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Remember Ronaldinho's crossbar advert?
The video shares a similar mystique to the famous Ronaldinho video from 2005, in which the ex-Barcelona and Brazil star repeatedly smashed a football against a crossbar in an advert for Nike.
There's a certain level of enjoyment that comes from watching amazing players do things with a football that seem entirely impossible.
So Messi, Ronaldinho and Haaland, we're ready to give you the benefit of the doubt.
