Lionel Messi might be one of the most skilful players to have ever played in the Champions League.

The Argentinian wizard is renowned for his amazing command over the ball and ability to create chances out of nothing. 

During his time at Barcelona, we watched Messi work his genius, turning opposition players inside out, to help the Catalan side win four Champions League trophies.

That makes him one of the most decorated players to have graced the European tournament.

While he might still trail his perpetual rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who has five UCL titles to his name, there’s no doubt that Messi has helped orchestrate some of the greatest triumphs in Champions League history. 

One of which came in May 2015 against Bayern Munich during Barcelona’s historic treble-winning season. 

The Blaugrana whitewashed the German champions 3-0 in the semi-final of the tournament, but it was the 34-year-old’s masterclass scoring two virtuoso goals late on in the match that spurred the Catalan side into the final. 

One of those goals evidenced the sheer brilliance of the forward and is still remembered by fans as perhaps one of the greatest Champions League goals ever scored. 

Collecting the ball on the edge of the box, Messi performed a subtle yet devastating ‘inside outside’ skill move that toppled German centre-back Jerome Boateng.

It was the stuff of nightmares for the Bayern defender, whose legs were caught in a knot by Messi’s magical powers and saw Barcelona legend glide past the bamboozled World Cup winner to go 1v1 against goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. 

But what happened next is just as special, with the 34-year-old chipping the ball over Neuer to finish off the incredible solo effort from a tight angle. 

While Boateng will want to forget the incident for obvious reasons, fans on Twitter think they have found evidence that Messi’s destruction of the defender was years in the making. 

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While the PSG star often appears superhuman using his insane abilities to dribble around defenders, it seems the best players in the world still need to practice to be able to pull off the unthinkable in a match. 

And a video has gone viral on Twitter showing Messi doing just that. 

Receiving the ball in what looks like a training exercise, a fresh-faced and long-haired version of the winger can be seen practising the same ‘inside outside’ trick that he used to topple Boateng in 2015. 

Take a look at how the Argentinian sends his training partner off-balance using the subtle piece of skill in the video below. 

It’s safe to say, there’s a reason why he’s a seven-time Ballon d’Or winner. 

As golfing legend Gary Player once said: “The harder I practice, the luckier I get,” and it seems the greatest players in world football also have to put the hard yards in before they can pull off the spectacular.