How to Dribble Like Lionel Messi

1. 
   Have Incredible Speed. The speed is the key to Lionel Messi's style of play. He runs fast but rather than kicking it and then chasing it, he uses his close control to keep the ball close to his feet while running fast.
2. 
   Have Great Close Control. This is how Lionel Messi swirls around those defenders often making even the best defenders look like amateurs when he goes past them. To have this kind of close control, you want to be able to dribble the ball with each step you take while your running, jogging, and walking. This way you develop close control and can cut past defenders when you need to.
3. 
   Be Able to Move. This is probably the biggest secret behind his dribbling, if you have ever seen Lionel Messi play you often find him going slow at a defender to sucker him in and then dart around them with the change of pace. First it’s slow, slow, slow and then he bursts past them with speed. And he will cut the ball in either direction, to the inside or to the outside.
4. 
   Weight shifting. Have you ever seen Messi come so close to a defender and suddenly change direction and burst past him. In order to do this you must shift your weight on side your dribbling to, don't do it fast it will make you look like an amateur, do it slowly to confuse the defender. Once you've got out of the defender's leg's reach, burst past him with speed.
5. 
   Imagine you have stuck the ball to your feet. You are not going to get past defenders with only speed! Use feints and big touches.