Messi ageing like a fine wine

 Players usually start to decline as they go through their 30s, but there are some who maintain their high level for longer than expected.

Then, aside from these players, there are a select few who seem to get better as their career goes on, reinventing themselves and breaking more and more records.

Amongst this handful, there is one player who stands out above the rest as his level seems only to improve as the years go by: Lionel Messi.

The Rosario-born superstar, born in 1987, today turns 32, and does so in arguably one of the best moments of his long career.

Messi, who has another reason to celebrate as Argentina reached the Copa America quarter-finals on Sunday, has registered one of his best ever seasons at an individual level.

In a Barcelona side lacking the wow-factor that once astonished the world, the number 10 carried the team on his back for ten months in their ambitious pursuit of a treble.

Messi led his team to yet another La Liga title as he took home the European Golden Shoe, and his impressive performances led Barcelona to the Copa del Rey final and to the verge of the Champions League final. However, his one-man army couldn't get over the line in the two cup competitions, failing to win either despite the Argentine's undoubted brilliance.

On the international scene, Messi's return is one of few positives for an Argentina side that, despite their qualification for the Copa America quarter-finals, leaves a lot to be desired and, more often than not, looks to the diminutive figure of Messi as a saviour rather than a footballer.

All of this at 32 years of age during a season in which he has been more alone than ever, learning to evolve and improve in seemingly all facets of his game.

His natural goalscoring instinct and finishing ability have not wavered, whilst he seems to have improved as a leader and now assists his teammates more than ever.

Now, we will have to wait and see if Messi can maintain his extraordinarily high standards for another season. It seems the only thing that may stop him is himself, with the passing of time yet to affect one of the greatest players to have ever graced the planet.