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Secrets of 'piano virtuoso' Leo Messi revealed by his double

If you thought Lionel Messi's piano skills were a bit too good to be true, it turns out you were right.

An Adidas-sponsored video that appeared on Messi's official social media accounts on Monday purported to show the Barcelona star playing the Champions League anthem on the eve of their first game of the campaign.

But a day later it has been revealed that while Messi did sit down at the piano, his musical talents were only due to some fancy editing.

The secret was spilled by professional pianist Tomas Fosch, who stood in for the footballer and actually played the tune.

"One day the ad agency, who had my info in their database, contacted me because they needed a piano player, but they didn't say anything else," Fosch told RAC1.

"Later they explained to me that they wanted me to play the Champions League hymn, but I didn't know until the very last minute that I was going to be Messi's double.

"First they taped some shots with him on the keys in front of the piano while they shaved my arm to copy the tattoo that he has, and when they were done taping that with him, I wore his clothes and played the Champions hymn."

And after a long day of shooting, Fosch shared a sentiment about that song that many a football fan can understand.

"I played it so many times," he said, "I don't ever want to listen to it again."