Messi has completed nearly twice as many dribbles as his nearest rival

Lionel Messi has completed the most dribbles in Europe's top five leagues since the 2006-07 season, according to figures released by Opta.

The Argentine superstar has dominated the game since making his professional debut in 2004 and is now favourite to win his eighth Ballon d'Or award later this month.

In 1044 career appearances, Messi has scored a remarkable 821 goals and provided 361 assists. But he also leads in dribbles completed when compared to his peers across multiple European leagues.

Messi has completed  2358 dribbles since August 2006, 1073 more than his nearest rival, former Chelsea and Real Madrid star Eden Hazard.

Hazard has 1285 dribbles to his name despite playing just 76 club matches over the last four years before his retirement from football earlier this month.

Messi's long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo is ranked sixth on the list with just 937 dribbles completed in the same period.

That will come as a surprise to many fans given that the portuguese star was a serial dribbler during his first spell at Manchester United and parts of his Real Madrid career.

Former Bayern Munich and France international Franck Ribery sits third while Neymar is ranked a place below.

Fans of the Brazilian star will have to wait for an extended to see him in action  for Al-Hilal again after he suffered an ACL injury while in action for Brazil this week.

Meanwhile, there is a place on the list for Galatasaray forward Wilfried Zaha, who takes the fifth spot.

The Ivory Coast international was one of the most feared forwards during his time  with Crystal Palace in the Premier League due to his pace and silky dribbling.