WATCH: Using the ref as a shield, an unbelievable free kick, that penalty and just piss-taking – Lionel Messi, ladies and gents

We've seen this man before.

A fella named Lionel Messi doing all sorts of stupid stuff at the weekend might've surprised a lot of people, but not us. We've been tracking the 28-year-old Rosario lad for quite some time now and, when he got his chance with Barcelona first team on Sunday and put in an indescribable performance against Celta Vigo, we knew all along that's what he was capable of. Messi, a native of Argentina in South America, was spotted only two months ago by a fan account of Barcelona legend, Neymar. Holidaying in Japan, the man they are nicknaming 'Leo' had onlookers drooling at this audacious long-range effort. https://twitter.com/NeyMarvellous/status/676432948237721601?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw But even before that video of the Spanish resident went viral, we were all over another piece of magic he was producing with an orange. By this stage, the man had his own Twitter account with plenty of followers too. https://twitter.com/TeamMessi/status/664124667167293440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw It was only a matter of time before the former Newell's Old Boys player got noticed by others and, obviously, Barcelona liked what they saw too. On Sunday, Lionel Andrés Messi was unleashed against Celta Vigo and the results were devastating. He plays with freedom and genius. He uses referees as shields. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68ZQRKXu0QI He hits crazy, crazy free kicks. He wins penalties with jaw-dropping pieces of skill. He changes the face of football for a night with the invention from said penalty. The man is going right to the very top. He could become - he could already be - the greatest of all time. But we knew about him three months ago. We knew him before he was cool.