15 Moments That Show Messi’s Magic With the Ball

These 15 moments aren’t just highlights—they're chapters in Messi's ongoing myth, told through a ball, a boot, and breathtaking brilliance.

Alyana Aguja
June 29, 2025
6 min read

15 Moments That Show Messi’s Magic With the Ball — Hannah Mckay-Reuters via Imagn Images

Lionel Messi’s magic isn’t defined by numbers or records, but by the moments that stole breaths, lifted stadiums, and humbled defenders. Messi shown an evolving artistry that marries vision, emotion, and technique. This list captures not only what he’s done, but how he’s made millions feel every time the ball touched his left foot.

1. Waltzing Through Madrid’s Wall of White

GEPA/Imagn Images

Just weeks before this final, Messi stunned the Bernabéu with one of the greatest solo goals in Champions League history — gliding from midfield past five defenders before scoring. That goal echoed throughout Europe, and by the time Barça faced Manchester United at Wembley, his confidence was untouchable.

2. Scoring Five Like It’s Five-a-Side

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Just four years earlier, Messi was still wearing No. 15 and chasing Olympic gold in Beijing, a rising star full of promise. Fast forward to 2012, and he made history—becoming the first player to score five goals in a single Champions League match. From soft chips to ice-cold finishes, he dismantled Leverkusen like it was a pickup game in Rosario, turning boyhood dreams into global dominance.

3. Ripping the Net to Silence Brazil

Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

In 2009, Messi was already dazzling crowds in friendlies with Barcelona, like here in San Francisco, where every touch hinted at a storm brewing. Three years later, that storm arrived: with a late-game curler from 25 yards out, he completed a hat-trick against Brazil and left their defense frozen in time. That strike wasn’t just a goal; it was a bold, brilliant declaration that this era belonged to him.

4. Dribbling Past Half of Bilbao

Matthew Emmons-Imagn Images

Just a few months before this clash with Mexico, Messi delivered one of his finest goals, gliding from the halfway line past a wave of Bilbao defenders before firing in at the near post. It was a sprint, a dance, and a finish all stitched into one breathless sequence. By the time he faced Mexico in September, the defenders knew what was coming, but stopping him was still a different story.

5. Dropping Boateng Without Touching Him

Matthew Emmons-Imagn Images

Just months before this photo in Arlington, Messi sent Jérôme Boateng to the turf with a feint so smooth it looked choreographed, then chipped Manuel Neuer like it was a warm-up drill. The moment broke the internet and solidified Messi’s grip on football’s imagination. Even against Mexico, you can see the same balance and ball control — the calm of a man who knows he can humiliate anyone with a single touch.

6. Saving Argentina in the 91st Minute

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Just weeks before this quiet moment of heartbreak in Rio, Messi had kept Argentina’s World Cup dream alive with a stunning last-minute goal against Iran. This left-footed rocket broke open a suffocating match. He didn’t erupt in celebration; he just looked to the sky, knowing his country needed saving. That goal wasn’t just timing — it was responsibility, the kind that weighed heavier with each passing match.

7. Breaking a 59-Year-Old Record with a Hat-Trick

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Just months after this bruising final in Rio, where Messi fought through every tackle and expectation, he returned to Barcelona. He made history, breaking La Liga’s all-time goal record with a hat-trick that blended grace with grit. He scored with a free-kick, a clinical finish, and a driven strike that felt more like punctuation than celebration. His teammates lifted him, but the weight of that moment had been carried long before the net rippled.

8. Chipping the Keeper from Outside the Box

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Less than a year after this moment of anguish against France, Messi returned to the pitch not burdened, but freer, responding not with frustration but with finesse. His third goal against Real Betis was a delicate chip from distance, so audacious and perfect that even the home fans stood and clapped. That wasn’t just forgiveness — it was football’s quiet way of honoring resilience.

9. Ending a Drought with Four Clinical Finishes

Yukihito Taguchi-Imagn Images

Long before this photo crowned his World Cup dream, Messi reminded the world who he was with a four-goal clinic against Eibar — each finish calm, efficient, inevitable. The whispers of a scoring drought vanished as quickly as the defenders he danced past. It wasn’t a comeback; it was the quiet kind of dominance that builds legacies like the one on full display in Lusail.

10. Volleying with a Smile Against Bolivia

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

By the time Messi stepped onto the field in Miami the following year, that same lightness was still in him — a joy that had been on full display when he volleyed in a graceful goal against Bolivia just months earlier. It wasn’t about dominance or drama that night; it was about rhythm, ease, and the kind of football you play when you’re in love with the game. For once, Messi looked like he was simply having fun, and somehow, that made him even more unstoppable.

11. Curling in a Free Kick Like a Postcard Stamp

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

More than a year later, as he glides past defenders against Honduras in this photo, the same calm control remains. Like the night he sealed a Copa América quarterfinal with a free kick so precise, it felt premeditated. No wild celebration, just a small nod, a fist pump, a job done. When Messi moves like this, you don’t need fireworks to know you’re watching something elite.

12. Bleeding, But Not Breaking

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

In this shot from a calmer night in Miami, Messi looks composed and in control, exactly how he looked even after being gashed and bleeding during the brutal semifinal against Colombia. He created a goal, took a crunching tackle, and wiped the blood away like it was a smudge on his legacy. You rarely see grace and grit share the same jersey, but with Messi, they always have.

13. Crying With the Copa América in Hand

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

In this photo from Miami a year later, Messi’s calm gaze carries the quiet confidence of a man who finally lifted the weight he’d been carrying for over a decade. That night in Rio, he didn’t score, but he orchestrated, absorbed, endured — and when it was over, he collapsed in tears. His magic wasn’t just in touches or passes; it was in finally freeing himself from every doubt that came before.

14. Dragging Argentina Out of a Corner

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

In this photo from two months earlier, Messi looks thoughtful, maybe even distant, as if already sensing the pressure that was about to land on his shoulders in Qatar. When the moment came against Mexico, he delivered with one touch, one step, and one low shot that kept Argentina’s World Cup dream alive. It wasn’t flashy, but it was everything his country needed — calm, conviction, and a goal that let millions exhale.

15. Leading with Fire in the World Cup Final

Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Just three months before lifting football’s ultimate prize, Messi was here in New Jersey, controlling the ball with the same ease and focus that would define him on the biggest stage. When the final arrived, he didn’t just play; he rose, scoring twice and converting in the shootout to crown a legendary career. The boy from Rosario had become the king of the world, but it was moments like this — quiet, deliberate, relentless — that laid the foundation.