Opta shared data that shows Lionel Messi has done the most dribbles in Europe’s top five leagues since the 2006–07 season. 

Since his first game as a professional in 2004, the Argentine superstar has ruled the game. He is now the favorite to win his eighth Ballon d’Or later this month. 

Messi has played 1044 times in his career and has scored 821 goals and set up 361 others. But among his peers in several European leagues, he also leads in successful dribbles. 

Since August 2006, Messi has done 2358 dribbles, which is 1073 more than his closest competitor, Eden Hazard, who used to play for Chelsea and Real Madrid.

Hazard, who quit football earlier this month, has 1285 dribbles even though he has only played 76 club games in the last four years. 

Ronaldo, Messi’s longtime foe, is sixth on the list with only 937 dribbles made in the same time frame. 

For many fans, that will come as a surprise because the Portuguese star loved to dribble the ball when he first played for Manchester United and in his early years with Real Madrid.  

Third place goes to Franck Ribery, who used to play for Bayern Munich and France, while Neymar is one spot below him. 

Fans of the Brazilian star will have to wait a long time to see him play for Al-Hilal again because he hurt his ACL this week while playing for Brazil. 

A fifth-place finish for Galatasaray forward Wilfried Zaha means he has a spot on the list. 

The Ivory Coast player was one of the most feared forwards in the Premier League when he played for Crystal Palace. He was fast and could dribble the ball very well.