Its the way he scores that's so spellbinding. The precision he has with a curving shot is amazing especially given that often there is only a split second in which he can shoot. It reminds me of the way Beckham used to do amazing free kicks but without having all the time in the world to think about it like Beckham had.
He is undoubtedly a total natural. If he thought for a moment about what he was doing he'd probably fall over.
The goal he scored against Bayern, his 2nd, he cut back, then, in about a 1/10th of a second, continued in the direction he'd been going originally. The defender (World class defender, Boeteng) simply fell over backwards. before Messi, confronted with the best goalkeeper on the planet, deftly chipped the ball over him.
This wasn't a training-ground trick, it was the Champions League.
The clue to his artistry, and it really is art, is the number of top-class defenders left helplessly on the floor, untying knots in their legs, whilst Messi celebrates another goal.
Maybe the best thing of all though is that I've yet to see him dive, or pathetically roll around on the floor in unconvincing agony. This is from a player who gets deliberately "hacked" more than most.
Thierry Henry, a former team-mate, says he's like a young kid on the park, always jumping to his feet shouting "give me the ball" (instead of waving imaginary red cards at referees).
"Best Ever" is always a difficult thing to judge (I never really saw Pele at his best) but I truly think I'm watching the best ever. This is someone doing it against the very best players the world has to offer, every single season, in the most important games.
He really needs a World Cup.