Football is not just a game, it is passion in its purest form for fans like me.

When we watch a football match: whether it is the FIFA World Cup Final between France and Croatia, an English Premier League Derby match or an El Clásico, we feel like we are as much a part of it as the players on the field.

Then there are those jaw-dropping moments when you watch players like Lionel Messi do absolute magic with the wall and you just remind yourself why you love the game.

For the impact Messi has had on me in multiple spheres of my life, I want to give him a short tribute. The players inspire us beyond the 90 minutes of the game and crazy football fans find themselves imitating their idols in their everyday lives. For me, that inspiring personality is Leo Messi. Beyond all the unbelievable goal-scoring, award-wining stats, it is the passion with which Messi plays for his team is what inspires me. Whether it be for Argentina or for Barcelona, he gives it his very best every time he is on the pitch. How he rips through the strongest of defences – dribbling and dodging – is a sight any true football fan would appreciate! The skill on display when Messi plays is unparalleled.

Coming to the statistical part, he’s already won more trophies than his age (31) and has shattered pretty much all the key records. He has won the Ballon d'Or awards a record five times and European Golden Shoes award the same number of times as well. The 32 club trophies that Messi has won include four UEFA Champions League titles, nine La Liga titles and six Copas del Ray. He also holds several goal scoring records like most goals in La Liga, most goals in one La Liga season, most hat-tricks in the UEFA Champions League and tons of assists in all the matches he has played. If stats are anything to go by, Messi is out of this world. He can’t be compared with any player based on his stats and considering that he’s still only 31!

I believe that we are fortunate to witness such wizard of a player in our time. For me, he is definitely the best player ever. Whether it be the stats or the way he plays on the pitch, Messi is a class apart! We are lucky to see him put the ball at the back of the net for so many years now.

The speed, the agility, and the guile with which Messi handles the ball on his left foot is something the game has probably never witnessed nor will it ever will. His accolades with Barcelona speak for the man himself. For Argentina as well, he took a not-so-great team to the final single-handedly in the 2014 World Cup where he was declared the best player of the tournament.

Messi, to me, is the most wonderful football player ever and one of the biggest inspirations in life!