Here is a factual guide on the man of the moment...
It was Messi's 56th converted penalty in La Liga and saw him draw level with Hugo Sanchez as the league's second-top penalty taker, behind record holder Cristiano Ronaldo on 61.
Rafa Nadal's bid to get back to top form before the French Open suffered a setback when he crashed to a 6-4, 7-6(6) defeat to 13th-seeded Italian Fabio Fognini in the third round of the Barcelona Open on Thursday.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema took Real Betis apart to give Real Madrid a resounding 5-0 win on Saturday that put them level on 50 points with Barcelona and Atletico Madrid at the top of La Liga.
Real Madrid produced a gutsy performance to earn a 1-0 win at Sevilla, on Sunday, which took them level on points at the top of La Liga
World No 1 Serena Williams kept her Wimbledon title defence on track on Sunday, downing Germany's Annika Beck 6-3, 6-0 with a crushing display of power and booming serves.
Sevilla stayed firmly on course for a second consecutive Europa League crown when an Aleix Vidal double and a Kevin Gameiro strike secured a thumping 3-0 win at home to Fiorentina in their semi-final first leg on Thursday.
Real Madrid won the Club World Cup for the first time by beating San Lorenzo 2-0 on Saturday with goals from Sergio Ramos and Gareth Bale after being forced into a scrap by the feisty South Americans.
Czech fourth seed Tomas Berdych bulldozed his way into the second round of the French Open by thrashing Japanese qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka 6-0, 7-5, 6-3 on Monday.
Carlos Vela helped Real Sociedad overcome a European hangover when he grabbed a second-half equaliser to earn a 1-1 draw at promoted Elche in La Liga on Saturday.
Top seeds Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams face challenging early tests at the US Open following Friday's draws for the year's last Grand Slam starting on Monday.
Portugal's football team captain Cristiano Ronaldo's agent has revealed that the forward would play out the rest of his career at Real Madrid, shunning reports of a return to Manchester United.
Some of the best photographs, clicked across the globe in January.
Images from Day 6 of the French Open matches played at Roland Garros in Paris on Friday.
It was a feast for the eyes as 40,620 people turned out at the Saltlake Stadium and witnessed the five-goal thriller with England dominating the first one-hour, followed by Mexico's second-half resurgence.
After defeating Mali 3-2 and New Zealand 4-2, the South American team, one of the favourites to lift the title, will be looking to dominate Turkey.
Vietto slotted the ball home with seven minutes to go after Karim Benzema had given visitors Real the lead early on.
Cristiano Ronaldo grabbed a hat-trick and Gareth Bale became the fifth British player to score for Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in La Liga when he struck twice in an action-packed 7-3 win over Sevilla on Wednesday.
Real Madrid made it two wins in two La Liga outings this season when Karim Benzema's scuffed 10th-minute strike secured an uninspiring 1-0 win at Granada on Monday.
Real Madrid closed to within three points of La Liga leaders Barcelona and Atletico Madrid at the halfway stage of the season when a Pepe header secured a laboured 1-0 win at mid-table Espanyol on Sunday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
Rafael Nadal's announcement on Friday that he will miss the ATP World Tour Finals because of appendicitis ended a difficult year for the Spaniard during which he has endured injury, illness and worrying defeats.
Brazil midfielder Casemiro stretched Real's advantage right before halftime with a gut-busting run to meet a cross from compatriot Vinicius, but Levante hit back shortly after the interval through former Madrid forward Borja Mayoral.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday
Formula One has lost another of its principals.
Key head-to-head battles in Saturday's "Clasico" between Real Madrid and Barcelona at the Bernabeu stadium (1600 GMT)
We sorted through countless photographs taken around the world to come up with the top photos of 2019. Together these images tell the story of the year -- capturing moments of hope and heartbreak, triumph and tragedy.
As Leicester City celebrates its Premier League triumph, Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com salutes the man behind it.
Sania Mirza recently added a mixed doubles gold from the Asian Games to her three Grand Slam titles in the same category, and is ranked world No. 7 in doubles. However, Indian tennis legend Vijay Amritraj says he would have loved to see her do well in singles and fulfil her true potential.
Edinson Cavani scored early for Paris St Germain but a series of wasted chances came back to haunt them as Ajax Amsterdam equalised late to deny the French a winning start on the road in a 1-1 draw in Champions League Group F on Wednesday.
The policy of buying players cheap and selling them for a higher price a few years on is a business model that worked well for clubs like Atletico Madrid and FC Porto. With the transfer window open for the next few weeks, Rediff.com takes a look at clubs that made smart deals over the years.
Andy Murray clinched the Vienna Open title on Sunday with a 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 victory over David Ferrer, one of the Briton's main rivals in the battle to qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals.
US Open champions Marin Cilic and Serena Williams kicked off their China Open campaigns with straight sets victories against battling underdogs on Monday, but Rafael Nadal suffered defeat in a rare doubles outing on his return from injury.
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