Barcelona and Bayern fought hard but failed to break the shackles until the 77th minute in the match when Messi struck the first and three minutes later struck his 77th Champions League goal to double Barca's advantage.
With Argentina looking dysfunctional and under-performing throughout the qualifiers, Messi's dream of matching Maradona in Russia always looked a tall order.
Barcelona star Lionel Messi is 'worried' over the coronavirus outbreak and said it is 'time to be responsible and stay at home'.
Messi agreed no-fee Barca exit clause in case of Catalan independence
Lionel Messi scored one penalty and missed another as Barcelona beat Real Valladolid 1-0 on Saturday to open up a seven-point lead at the top of La Liga.
Lionel Messi has become the first player to win Europe's Golden Shoe award for three straight years after his nearest challenger Kylian Mbappe failed to score the four goals he needed in Paris St Germain's final league match of the season on Friday.
Despite Manchester City officials trying their best to sign Lionel Messi in recent years, manager Pep Guardiola has in contrast expressed his deep desire to see Argentine star striker end his illustrious career at Barcelona. Guardiola, who had worked with Messi for over four years in Barcelona, believes that the Camp Nou club has become the striker's home. "Messi will finish his career at Barcelona that is what I desire deeply. I want him to be there from the beginning to the end," Marca quoted Guardiola as saying.
Round-up of football matches played around Europe on Saturday.
Cristiano Ronaldo's son Cris junior is a Lionel Messi fan the boy's father said after they met up with the Argentina captain at the Ballon D'Or ceremony in Zurich on Monday.
Images from the matches played across football leagues in Europe on Sunday.
A blond-haired Lionel Messi failed to get on the scoresheet but it hardly mattered as under-strength Barcelona taught Celtic a footballing lesson in a Dublin friendly.
Barcelona's Lionel Messi broke free from Arsenal's shackles to score two late goals and put the Champions League holders on the brink of the quarter-finals with a clinical 2-0 victory at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.
A young Afghan fan of Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi has fled his home and gone to Pakistan because his family feared he could be kidnapped after he became an unlikely Internet sensation, the boy's uncle said on Tuesday. Five-year-old Murtaza Ahmedi grabbed world headlines after being photographed in a shirt improvised from a plastic bag in the colours of the Argentine national team bearing Messi's name and number 10 playing number. After pictures of Murtaza went viral on social media, his family feared that after becoming famous worldwide, he could be abducted by kidnappers for ransom. His home is in the central region of Ghazni where security has been fragile and where kidnappings are common.
Lionel Messi spoke for the great and the good of world soccer, not to mention millions of grassroots fans, when he acclaimed Leicester City's extraordinary Premier League triumph by tweeting: "The reason why we all love football. Congratulations"
Luis Suarez grabbed a hat-trick and Lionel Messi bagged two goals as Barcelona began their quest for a third straight La Liga title with a 6-2 rout of Real Betis on Saturday. Arda Turan, whose two goals against Sevilla helped Barca lift the Spanish Super Cup on Wednesday, gave them an early lead at the Nou Camp before Ruben Castro equalised in the 21st minute. Barca went back in front thanks to a trademark 37th-minute goal from Messi before Suarez, La Liga's top scorer last season, made it 3-1 before halftime.
While Ronaldo, a three-time winner, has been ever-present in the final three since the award was created in 2011, centre back Van Dijk makes his first appearance after helping Liverpool win the Champions League title last season.
Barcelona striker Lionel Messi has returned home to Argentina but remains doubtful for World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Venezuela with his club confirming the 29-year-old is struggling with a sore left hamstring.
Rediff.com's Hitesh Harisinghani brings you unfiltered moments of chaos, hard work and confidence behind designer Rajdeep Ranawat's show at the ongoing Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai.
Talented winger Lallianzuala Chhangte "would not mind" stepping up as the next number 9 of the Indian football team, after talismanic forward Sunil Chhetri's illustrious career comes to an end in Kolkata on June 6.
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.
Ronaldo, who won the award last year, topped the scoring charts with 15 goals in the competition as Real Madrid won a third consecutive European crown.
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.
But can Lionel Messi secure a place among the game's greats with a World Cup triumph? But for now on a lighter note we bring Messi's better half, Antonella Roccuzzo.
Madrid-based daily Marca added that the group of supporters were also heckling ex-River player Mascherano, criticising him for "forgetting" his roots
Is it surprising that the favourite food of our manic Mumbai city has achieved a world rank?
An earlier tax fraud case against Messi is to be heard in a Barcelona court between May 31 and June 3 after the World Player of the Year and his father Jorge were accused by the tax office in 2013 of defrauding the Spanish state of 4.2 million euros ($4.5 million) from 2007-09.
The incident took place at Dubai airport where Messi landed last month to attend the seventh edition of the Globe Soccer Awards, in which he received the prize of best team and best player, local dailies said.
Harry Kane toppled Alan Shearer's 22-year-old record for the most Premier League goals in a calendar year by scoring a double for Tottenham Hotspur against Southampton, on Tuesday, also overtaking Lionel Messi as the top scorer in Europe.
Billed in Spain as the decisive showdown between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for the 2012 FIFA Ballon d'Or award, Sunday's La Liga El Clasico gave plenty of ammunition to both camps as each player netted twice in a thrilling 2-2 draw.
Lionel Messi proved that anything Cristiano Ronaldo can do he can do better when he struck twice for Barcelona to rescue a 3-2 comeback win for the favourites at home to Spartak Moscow in their Champions League Group G opener on Wednesday.
Lionel Messi has identified Spain as the one country he hopes to avoid in the group stages of the World Cup finals next year.
Chhetri has been the face of Indian soccer for nearly a decade-and-half and his 94 international goals make him the third-highest active international scorer after Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
