Lionel Messi's late penalty saw bedraggled Barcelona scrape a 2-1 victory over Leganes on Sunday at a divided Nou Camp as the La Liga champions looked as if they had still not recovered from their harrowing midweek defeat to Paris St Germain.
At 39, he is, understandably, a different footballer but the hunger for goals remains.
According to Associated Press, Messi was banned for "having directed insulting words at an assistant referee" during a home qualifier against Chile on Thursday, FIFA said hours before kickoff in La Paz.
Says Real Madrid weaker without the Portuguese
Lionel Messi announced on Friday that he wants to return to play for the national team, reversing his decision to retire earlier this year. Messi said in June that he would not play for Argentina again after the team lost to Chile in the final of the Copa America.
Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton and Barcelona forward Lionel Messi were declared joint winners of the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award in Berlin on Monday, with the voting tied for the first time in the awards' 20-year history. Mercedes driver Hamilton won his sixth world championship in 2019, with 11 race wins and 17 podium finishes, while Messi was crowned the world's best player for a record sixth time when he won the Ballon d'Or. American gymnast Simone Biles, who became the most decorated gymnast in world championship history when she won her 25th medal last year, won her third Sportswoman of the Year gong after winning the award in 2017 and 2019.
Round-up of football matches played around Europe on Saturday.
Describing Liones Messi as the best player in the world, Barcelona spokesperson Josep Vives has said that star striker doesn't need any award to prove his credibility.
Lionel Messi was so distraught at Barcelona missing out on reaching the 2012 Champions League final that he was reduced to tears
'He's an exceptional talent, him and Cristiano have been the best players in the world the last decade and he showed why we think that and why this team have won the Champions League so many times'
No amount of preparation is enough to snuff out the threat of Argentina's "assassin" Lionel Messi, Panama coach Hernan Dario Gomez said ahead of Friday's Copa America clash between the teams. Messi was an unused substitute in Argentina's 2-1 win over holders Chile in their opening Group D match in Santa Clara, California on Monday after a back injury but will reappear when they face Panama in Chicago. "Leo trained normally, he will play," coach Gerardo Martino told a news conference on Thursday. Both sides have three points after Panama marked their first appearance in the world's oldest international tournament with a surprise 2-1 win over Bolivia, who face Chile in Foxborough on Friday.
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.
Argentina president Mauricio Macri has personally contacted star striker Lionel Messi and urged him not to call it quits to the national team.
Lionel Messi's triumphant Argentina comeback has been tempered by a hint he may not be fit to play in Tuesday's World Cup qualifier in Venezuela. Messi, who had gone back on his decision to quit the team following their Copa America final defeat in June, scored the only goal in a 1-0 home win over Uruguay on Thursday that sent Argentina to the top of the South American group. However, the Argentina captain said he had a groin pain and had to think about his fitness at the start of a busy season for his national side and his club Barcelona.
Messi, who won the Spanish La Liga title with Barcelona last season as well as the European golden boot having scored 54 goals in 58 games in all competitions, last won the award in 2015.
Now, through the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), Messi has kept his promise and gifted his five-year-old fan, Murtaza Ahmadi, two autographed jerseys and a signed football, CNN reported.
Argentina forward Lionel Messi played down an incident in which someone tried to punch him outside a restaurant in his home town of Rosario on Thursday.
Past and present Barcelona team mates Carles Puyol, Javier Mascherano, Neymar and Luis Suarez were all there, as was Gerard Pique and his pop star wife Shakira.
Messi, who has struggled for form in recent weeks due to a niggling injury, looked on a mission to grab the winner and after twice coming close he completed his treble to put Barca ahead in the 85th minute, reacting quickly to a poor Sevilla clearance to dink the ball over goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik.
Former Real Madrid and England manager gives a clear explanation to the Messi vs Ronaldo debate
Barcelona talisman has become just as dangerous from dead ball situations too
A stunning overhead kick by Eduard Bello helped Venezuela hold Brazil to a 1-1 draw in their 2026 World Cup qualifier on Thursday.
Soccer's five-times World Player of the Year Lionel Messi should be acquitted on tax evasion charges against him, Spain's public prosecutors' office said on Friday as the trial drew to a close. Neither Messi nor his father Jorge Horacio Messi attended the hearing in a Barcelona court where closing arguments were given. Both are accused by the Spanish tax office of defrauding the government of 4.2 million euros ($4.8 million) between 2007 and 2009 but have denied any wrongdoing. Speaking on whether or not Lionel Messi was aware of the alleged fraud, state prosecutor Raquel Amado said: "There is no evidence that anyone explained it to him ... the prosecutor sustains that Lionel Andres Messi should be acquitted."
PSG made hard work of beating Strasbourg 4-2 in the French Ligue 1, while Real Madrid registered a comfortable 4-1 win away to Alaves in their opening game.
Iceland's dream World Cup debut may have gotten them a point against two-time champions Argentina, but Aron Gunnarsson and his team mates are already putting that result behind them as they move on to the challenge of Nigeria.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are potential targets for Inter-Miami, co-owner David Beckham said on Wednesday, underscoring his team's global ambition as they prepare to make their long-awaited Major League Soccer debut this weekend.
Lionel Messi will not chase a second Olympic football gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Games in August, Argentina coach Gerardo Martino said on Monday.
Runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City beat champions Chelsea 1-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday to extend their lead to 18 points and leave the London side further adrift from the Champions League qualification spots.
Praise comes in from all quarters as Argentine breaks Raul's Champions League record.
Lionel Messi trained alongside his Argentina team-mates at the Copa America Centenario as he targets a return from injury in his team's second Group D game against Panama. Messi, who has been nursing a sore back after sustaining an injury in a friendly against Honduras last month, has trained separately under the supervision of team medical staff since arriving in the United States. However the 28-year-old Barcelona superstar took part in a full training session on Wednesday at the University of Illinois campus, two days after sitting out Argentina's opening 2-1 victory over Chile in Santa Clara on Monday.
Cristiano Ronaldo said there is no chance of him playing club football in Europe again and that the Saudi Arabian league is better than Major League Soccer.
With the world watching him in a World Cup opener against Iceland, the normally brilliant Messi struck a weak spot-kick that was saved, leaving Argentina with a disappointing 1-1 draw.
A Dubai policeman has been court sentenced to one month in prison for posting a video showing Argentine football superstar Lionel Messi's passport on social media, local media reported on Monday.
Barcelona star Lionel Messi is 'worried' over the coronavirus outbreak and said it is 'time to be responsible and stay at home'.
Tata Motors might have to rethink its association with sportstar Lionel Messi.
Leicester City's Kelechi Iheanacho scored two poacher's goals as they beat Manchester United 3-1 in their FA Cup quarter-final on Sunday to set up a last-four clash against Southampton.
In the week of his 31st birthday, Messi was again a largely anonymous figure as they lost 4-3 to France in a thrilling last-16 match in Kazan.
Lionel Messi came to Barcelona's rescue for the second time in a week by snatching a late winner to give his side a barely deserved 2-1 win at Atletico Madrid on Sunday which provisionally took the champions top of La Liga.
The World Cup lost its headline acts on Saturday as the game's two biggest stars, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, readied to leave Russia after their teams were eliminated in the round of 16. Messi's Argentina lost 4-3 to France and hours later Ronaldo's Portugal went down 2-1 to Uruguay, leaving the tournament without its two best known and most loved players.
Valverde refused to answer questions about the club's interest in Neymar and lamented the fact that the Spanish transfer window does not shut before the season starts, as it does in England.
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