Happy birthday, Lionel Messi.At the expense of sounding all saccharine and sentimental, the reality is that Messi's birthday is also a celebration for everybody in the beautiful game.No, not to party at the thought of him edging closer to retirement - we see you, Cristiano Ronaldo ultras - but rather as an excuse to herald one of the greatest football players of all time.
Messi celebrates his 35th birthday
Even if you don't consider Messi to be your personal pick for the GOAT - power to you - you can't deny that the Paris Saint-Germain star has brought truckloads of brilliance to the sport we all love.
And to think that he's now passed the halfway mark of his thirties having won a Ballon d'Or in the last 12 months just goes to show how evergreen he continues to be - and how blessed we are as a result.
Nevertheless, as too is the case for the 37-year-old Ronaldo, time at the top is still finite for the greats of the game.
And while we couldn't possibly predict when Messi still start to plateau and consider retirement, his advanced age - for a footballer, that is - nevertheless means that we should appreciate him even more with each passing birthday.
You never know when you might see your last 10/10 masterclass from Messi, so it's the safer bet to soak up every little moment that the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner continues to offer at the highest level.
Now, hopefully they'll be plenty of them to come next season at the Parc des Princes, but while we all wait for the 2022/23 campaign to come around, let's enjoy a birthday treat in the mean time.
Soccer Football - Finalissima - Italy v Argentina - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - June 1, 2022 Argentina's Lionel Messi celebrates after winning the Finalissima REUTERS/Andrew Couldridge
Video shows stats can't measure Messi's ability
And just on cue, a brilliant montage summarising the genius of the Argentina captain has gone viral on Twitter this week, aptly leading with the caption: "There's no stat to measure Messi's ability."
Posted by Twitter user @Mysticalleo_, the 76-second video shows exactly why the magnificence of Messi often can't be articulated in the statistics, but simply has to be appreciated in its full video-recorded glory.
And from highlighting the 35-year-old's astonishing composure in front of goal to his uncanny ability to make defenders look like training cones, it's an awesome prism through which you can watch Messi in full flow.
So, be sure to do yourself a favour and take one minute out of your day for one of the greatest athletes in history by watching his unquantifiable brilliance in the video down below:
This is Messi's world. We're just living in it.
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Levels of composure off the scale
You can't help wondering sometimes whether or not Messi experiences life in a slower frame rate than us mere mortals because there are just countless goals where he seems to have all the time in the world.
Plus, it just happens to be that exact composure that makes so many of Messi's strikes feel like a ballet routine to watch, almost counting for two goals in its impudence, nonchalance and general classiness.
It's why so many videos like these will quip that stats don't do Messi justice and truth be told, it's the case for most very world-class footballer because the beautiful game really is in the eye of the beholder...
... not the calculator of the mathematician.