The stunt has gone viral on YouTube with over 10 million views.
According to The Post Game, the 27-year-old set a new world record by lifting and controlling a soccer ball at a height of 18 meters (59 feet).
Messi juggles the soccer ball briefly before launching it over a hurdle set by a pair of cranes at a height of 18 meters (59 feet). He controls the ball solely with his feet on the other side of hurdle as it zooms down to Earth.
Anyone who has played the game of soccer would recognize immediately the supreme skill of this footballer from the casual ease with which he is able to lift the ball over a barrier set at a height of 59-60 feet. A less skilled footballer would find it difficult to achieve this part of the stunt which Messi performs as though it was nothing.
But the greater part of the stunt is controlling the ball without allowing it to bounce on the ground as it zooms back to Earth under acceleration due to the force of gravity. Messi’s extraordinary first-touch skills are demonstrated by the effortless manner he is able bring the ball under total control with the first two touches.
No, no, his boots aren’t smeared with glue.
Watch the reaction of the Japanese man running commentary in the video inset. The poor guy is nearly knocked off his feet. Wow! Unbelievable! How do you say that in Japanese?
You can judge the height of 60 feet by comparing the relative dimensions of the footballer standing in an empty basketball court and the building.
Messi demonstrates why he is widely touted as having the best first-touch soccer skills ever. And in case you think the first time was a fluke, he repeats the stunt once again with equal ease.
One could be led out of envy to begrudge nature’s lack of a sense of fairness in distributing world-wowing talents.
And we won’t get mired in endless claims and counterclaims about who is better; Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi or Diego Maradona, or even Messi or Pele. But as Telegraph notes, we could expect Ronaldo to take up the challenge very soon by attempting to juggle a soccer ball over the Empire State Building.
Judging from what we know about the fierceness of the Messi-Ronaldo rivalry, soon, one of the two super athletes would be attempting to outdo the other by controlling a soccer ball from the height of the ISS in orbit.
Messi remains in top form this season having scored 23 times in 22 appearances for Barcelona. He set a new La Liga record of 253 goals after he surpassed Telmo Zarra’s record of 251 goals by scoring a hat-trick in a match against Sevilla on 22 November.
Following reports that Messi is unhappy about the way Barcelona is being run by coach Luis Enrique, speculation continuew about the ace footballer moving to Chelsea or other top clubs such as Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid.
