Lionel Messi is a playmaking genius.Even as the Paris Saint-Germain star has pulled up the handbrake ever so slightly on his goalscoring, he's never taken so much as a second away from creating chances for his teammates.And now that he's got two prolific goalscorers in Kylian Mbappe and Neymar either side of him at the Parc des Princes, Messi has leaned even more into a sort of quarterback role.

Messi's passing genius

Yes, Messi still plays a pivotal role in PSG's front line and yes, he's never too far away from a goal himself, but he's more than comfortable with dropping back to pull the strings from deep.

And boy was Messi's tail wagging when it came to creating chances this weekend because his creative juices were flowing during the Ligue 1 clash with Brest.

Messi has looked reinvigorated across his second season in France and was spraying incredible passes left, right and centre during his latest outing in the nation's top-flight.

Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Paris St Germain v Brest - Parc des Princes, Paris, France - September 10, 2022 Paris St Germain's Lionel Messi in action REUTERS/Christian Hartmann

Messi passing Brest to death

No one pass was so jaw-dropping as to deserve its own spot in the Louvre, but the sheer water torture of Messi cutting the opposition in half every 10 seconds was a joy to behold.

You really did get the impression that the Barcelona icon was able to loft the ball over Brest's defence and into the exact square inch of the pitch he intended for it whenever he pleased.

And in the end, Messi's passing range was so on point that he was able to provoke a red card for Pierre Hérelle that was only overruled due to offside as well as the opening goal from Neymar.

Trust us when we say that the assist was the pick of the passing bunch for Messi, but each and every one of his finest passes in the first-half are also worthy of your undivided attention:

Video: Messi's deft through ball to Neymar

Video: Messi pass provokes overruled red card

Video: Slick pass from Messi in PSG build-up

Video: Messi's sumptuous assist for Neymar

It's like a pass attack. Madness.

Playmaking gold from Messi

All in all, Messi's first-half statistics were jaw-dropping as Statman Dave clocked him in at four key passes, 100% of long balls completed, two big chances created and, of course, an assist for Neymar.

Sure, it's not exactly top-class opposition, but it still takes an extraordinary creative touch to be providing that many sumptuous passes regardless of whether you're playing Brest or Bayern Munich.

And Messi's latest passing masterclass will indeed send an ominous message to Europe's elite clubs as PSG continue to look stronger and stronger under Christophe Galtier's stewardship.

Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Paris St Germain v Brest - Parc des Princes, Paris, France - September 10, 2022 Paris St Germain's Neymar and Lionel Messi react REUTERS/Christian Hartmann

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