Messi's contract with Barcelona is set to come to an end this season
IMAGES from the soccer matches played across leagues on Friday
All the action from football matches played in Europe on Wednesday
Images from the Serie A and La Liga matches played on Saturday.
Celta Vigo's Russia international Fedor Smolov has flouted Spain's lockdown to return to his home country, becoming the second Celta player to break the rules of the state of emergency to fight the coronavirus, Spanish newspaper AS reported. Citing a club source, AS reported that Celta said Smolov had asked permission to return home for personal reasons but they could not grant it as La Liga did not authorise his request.
Chelsea won their first competitive match under coach Mauricio Pochettino with a 3-0 home victory over Premier League new boys Luton Town.
Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha both scored twice to help Barcelona thrash hosts Villarreal 5-1.
Messi was at his devastating his best during the Celta Vigo clash as he netted a hat-trick, helping Barcelona secure a 4-1 win on Sunday.
Valencia paid tributes to the victims of Nepal earthquake in their match against Celta Vigo during La Liga on Sunday.
Late Tchouameni header gives Real Madrid 2-1 Las Palmas win and top spot
Ivan Toney, once Brentford's lynchpin in attack, has moved to Al-Ahli for 40 million pounds ($52.50 million).
Barcelona restored their lead at the top of La Liga standings to nine points after Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez each scored in a routine if underwhelming 3-0 win at home to struggling Levante on Sunday, with Paulinho increasing their lead in added time.
Real Madrid fought back from two goals down as Vinicius Jr grabbed a hat-trick in a thrilling 5-2 win over visitors Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.
Impressive performances from Lionel Messi and Ansu Fati helped Barcelona overcome an early red card to defender Clement Lenglet and win 3-0 at Celta Vigo on Thursday to make it two wins out of two in the new La Liga season.
Real Madrid's faltering title defence continued as they were held to a thrilling 2-2 draw at Celta Vigo on Sunday which saw them fall 16 points behind runaway leaders Barcelona, who beat Levante 3-0 to stay nine points clear at the top of La Liga.
Second-half strikes by Federico Valverde, Brahim Diaz and Endrick gave feeble Real Madrid an unconvincing 3-0 win over lowly Real Valladolid.
Lionel Messi scored twice as King's Cup holders Barcelona moved comfortably into the quarter-finals by thrashing Celta Vigo 5-0 at the Nou Camp in their last 16 second leg game on Thursday.
Manchester United's match against ManchesterCity in the Premier League on Thursday is "the game of the season" and will play a decisive role in both teams' chances of finishing in the top four, midfielder Ander Herrera has said.
Sevilla set up a King's Cup showpiece clash against Barcelona with a 6-2 aggregate semi-final victory over Celta Vigo after a 2-2 second-leg draw on Thursday.
Cristiano Ronaldo, fired up by rival Lionel Messi's midweek hat-trick for Barcelona, struck four goals in 26 second-half minutes as Real Madrid crushed Celta Vigo 7-1 at the Bernabeu on Saturday.
Champions Barcelona lost 2-0 at Celta Vigo while Getafe earned an important 2-0 win over Girona in their bid to secure Champions League qualification.
Union Berlin's Paul Jaeckel scored a 76th-minute winner to give his team a 1-0 victory at VfB Stuttgart on Sunday and send them two points clear at the top of the Bundesliga.
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho said Friday's draw for the last 16 of the Europa League against Russian side Rostov has been unkind to his team, the favourites.
Barcelona's outlay of 20 million euros ($22 million) on Jeremy Mathieu last July prompted plenty of criticism but the France centre back has been worth his weight in gold in the La Liga leaders' last two outings.
Photos from soccer matches played across top European Leagues on Saturday.
Ajax to face United in final despite defeat at Lyon
Victory in their first match on the league's resumption after the COVID-19 stoppage took basement team Espanyol to 23 points from 28 games, three points off the safety zone.
La Liga leaders Barcelona moved 10 points clear with a 4-1 win at Real Betis on Sunday after second place Atletico Madrid slipped up at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday in a 2-0 defeat.
Luis Suarez completed a hat-trick thanks to a cheeky Lionel Messi assist from the penalty spot as Barcelona crushed Celta Vigo 6-1 to restore their three-point cushion over Atletico Madrid at the top of La Liga on Sunday.
A former midfielder for Sporting Gijon, Real Madrid and Barcelona, Luis Enrique won two Liga titles, one Champions League and three King's Cups as Barca coach between 2014 and 2017.
Antoine Griezmann headed two goals for Atletico Madrid in a 3-1 victory over Levante that kept them on the heels of La Liga leaders Real Madrid on Saturday.
Real Madrid opened a two-point lead over Villarreal at the top of La Liga when Cristiano Ronaldo set a club scoring record in a 3-0 stroll at home to Levante on Saturday.
Alvaro Negredo struck in stoppage-time as stuttering Valencia won 2-1 against his former club Sevilla on Sunday to earn coach Pako Ayesteran victory in his first home game in charge since succeeding Gary Neville.
Athletic Bilbao beat Barcelona 4-2 at home to knock them out of the Copa del Rey
Lionel Messi passed up the chance to net his 300th La Liga goal and instead put a hat-trick on a plate for team mate Luis Suarez with an outrageous penalty routine.
Barcelona have gone back to basics with the appointment of Nou Camp legend Luis Enrique as they look to bring stabilityand trophies back to the club after a stormy season with problems on and off the field.
Cristiano Ronaldo will lead Portugal's World Cup campaign after being named in their provisional 30-man squad for the finals on Tuesday, despite currently being out with a hamstring injury.
With a comfortable first-leg advantage, Zinedine Zidane rested much of his first team, making 10 changes from the line-up that struggled to a disappointing draw at Celta Vigo on Sunday to fall 16 points behind league leaders Barcelona.
Thomas Partey scored his first goal for Atletico Madrid as they reached the last 16 of the King's Cup with a 1-0 home victory over third-tier Reus on Thursday that secured a 3-1 aggregate success.
