It's no secret that Lionel Messi is one of the best -- if not the best -- active soccer players in the world.
But with his latest move, a penalty kick against Celta de Vigo Sunday, he once again proved that he's one of the all-time greats. His team, Barcelona, was already in a 3-1 lead when he scored, and went on to win the game 6-1, so Messi's penalty was probably not decisive in the victory, but it will definitely be remembered.
SPOILER ALERT: See the video now and then read on. There be spoilers below the video.
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If you're not familiar with soccer rules, you might be wondering whether Messi's move is even legal. The answer is yes, yes it is: The penalty kick is one of the biggest penalties in the game, with the opposing team's player free to shoot on the goal from 11 meters' distance. Most of the time -- always, really -- players use this opportunity to shoot directly at the goal, but it's legal for the player to pass the ball to another player, provided he shoots forward (which Messi does) and no other rules (offside etc.) are broken.
In this instance, Messi passed the ball to Luis Suarez, who ran from the background and scored; statistics-wise, it was officially Suarez's goal.
Messi and Suarez did the trick for several reasons: First, it was cool as hell. Also, it was Suarez's third goal, giving him the coveted hat trick (three goals in one game) accomplishment vs. Celta.
But the stunt was also likely a tribute to legendary footballer Johan Cruyff, who pulled a similar stunt in 1982. Cruyff was diagnosed with lung cancer in October 2015, but said on Saturday he was getting better. Check out Cruyff's penalty kick below.
So here's a quick recap: Messi pulled an amazing trick, sacrificing his own (likely) goal to give Suarez his third goal, and to pay tribute to an ill soccer legend. It doesn't get any more awesome than that.
Except yes, yes it does: The move which got Messi the penalty was also one for the history books. Check it out below.
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