Lionel Messi scored and grabbed two assists as La Liga leaders Barcelona eased to a 4-0 win away to struggling Real Mallorca on Saturday, making the perfect return to action after Spanish football's three-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The win takes Barca on to 61 points after 28 games, five clear of nearest challengers Real Madrid, who host Eibar on Sunday in their first game back.
Indian club East Bengal produced an utterly dominant show to crush Bangladesh's Bashundhara Kings 4-0 in their AFC Challenge League match in Thimphu on Tuesday.
Sergio Ramos has responded to a putdown from Argentina great Diego Maradona
The two-time WWE Hall of Famer captioned the video, "The Worldwide Sensation! WOOOOO!", leaving no doubt about the inspiration behind Rohit's celebratory walk.
Laporta, whose first spell in charge between 2003 and 2010 garnered unprecedented success, announced his candidacy for a second term on Monday.
A late Mauro Icardi strike earned Paris St Germain a last-gasp 2-1 home victory against Olympique Lyonnais with Lionel Messi making limited impact on his Parc des Princes debut on Sunday.
Much-needed rest for the Barca stars before FC Barcelona's UEFA's Champions League campaign.
Barcelona captain Lionel Messi has said he considered leaving the club when he was investigated for tax fraud in 2013, saying he felt "badly treated" by Spain.
The Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) said on Tuesday Messi had been banned for two matches, meaning he will miss Thursday's Copa del Rey last-32 tie at Cornella and Sunday's La Liga match away to Elche.
Images from Copa America matches played on Monday.
The action entertainer Marco is a well shot, gnarly bloodfest that packs some lackluster thrills, notes Arjun Menon.
Cristiano Ronaldo said he has always got on well with Lionel Messi and never saw him as a rival.
Sunil Chhetri became the joint second highest international goal scorer among active players along with Argentine superstar Lionel Messi
Film folk brought in the New Year with pretty posts and warm wishes on social media.
Messi had failed to turn up to the club's tests for COVID-19 eight days ago and been absent from all subsequent sessions ahead of the new campaign after giving the club an official notice that he wished to leave.
Betis fans bow to 'extraordinary' Messi after sublime hat-trick Lionel Messi is used to receiving adulation at the Nou Camp but on Sunday he got a rapturous reception from rival supporters for a majestic hat-trick in Barcelona's 4-1 win at Real Betis. Messi opened the scoring with an unstoppable free kick then combined with devastating effect with Luis Suarez to carve Betis open and score a second goal right before halftime. The Argentine saved his best goal for last, completing a victory which took Barca 10 points clear at the top of La Liga with a spectacular first-timed chip from the edge of the area after playing a one-two with Ivan Rakitic. Beaten Betis goalkeeper Pau Lopez looked on in awe while the home supporters, renowned for devotion to their side, rose to their feet, bowed down to Messi and chanted his name. "Even though the opposition concedes goals to Messi they can still enjoy this unbelievable era which he has created, they enjoy it too and today they recognised that," said Barca coach Ernesto Valverde. "It's significant that they gave him this ovation, it's an acknowledgement. Our rivals' supporters have to suffer him but they also appreciate him, because of the player he is. "Leo's performance was extraordinary, he got three goals but he could have got four, that shows you how good he is." Betis coach Quique Setien commended his supporters for their treatment of Messi while saying he felt honoured to work in the same era as the Argentine. "I really like the fact that our supporters showed their appreciation for a great player, today he really made us suffer," Setien said. "It's only fair and it's right to recognise this, our fans behaved in an extraordinary way and I'm very proud of them. I've seen some magnificent players do great things but no-one can match the things Messi has done over the last 12 years. "It's a privilege to have been able to start this era with him and see him in action every weekend." The five-times world player of the year moved on to 39 goals in all competitions this season with two months still left in the campaign. It was Messi's 51st career hat-trick but he could not recall receiving such applause from a rival team's fans. "I cannot remember anything like this before and I'm very grateful for the fans' reaction," Messi said. "I'm very grateful to them and happy for the victory, which was very important."
Lionel Messi, who is Barcelona's all-time top scorer with 634 goals in 731 games, is expected to spend three seasons at Manchester City before moving to CFG's Major League Soccer franchise New York City FC.
The stadium hosted the 'Dil-Luminati' concert on Saturday and Sunday and drew nearly 40,000 fans each night.
Give Messi time to decide on Argentina future, says Saviola
Argentina's Lionel Messi is used to being hacked down by desperate defenders but his statue in Buenos Aires has suffered even rougher treatment for the second time this year.
Lionel Messi became Barca's record appearance maker in the competition with 76 Copa matches.
The Barcelona legend showed his support following the end of the World Health Worker Week, which concluded on Saturday.
Messi scored twice and created goals for Arturo Vidal and Luis Suarez as champions Barca moved top of the table with 22 points from 10 matches.
Suarez had joined Barcelona in 2014. He scored 198 goals in 283 games for the Catalan side and he also earned the Golden Shoe as Europe's top scorer after scoring 59 total goals in 2015-16.
Former players and pundits said CA had treated Langer poorly
The Argentina captain turns 31 in a few days and may be playing his last World Cup. He would need to win it to rival fellow great Diego Maradona for the eternal love of his compatriots.
A major surprise in the 2024 Google search trends was the absence of iconic names like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, M S Dhoni, and Virat Kohli from the list of the top 10 most-searched athletes.
Messi's donation will be split between Hospital Clinic in Barcelona and another medical centre in his home country. Former Barcelona player and manager Guardiola made his contribution to a campaign launched by the Angel Soler Daniel Foundation and Medical College of Barcelona.
Following are the award winners who were honoured by UEFA during the Champions League draw on Thursday in Monaco.
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Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde said the football world must get used to the idea that Lionel Messi will retire in the near future.
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.
With no clear sense of direction being set by Deschamps' selections, it may be up to the players to find their own way to deal with Messi.
Last month, Barcelona had announced that the club's presidential election will be held on March 7. The election had previously been scheduled for January 24 but got postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Barcelona have been very active in the transfer market in recent years, completing three of the top six most expensive transfers ever.
The 32-year-old Messi scored 24 goals this season in all competitions before the coronavirus pandemic brought the football season to a standstill.
Brazilian Neymar is set to become the next best player in the world after Argentina's Lionel Messi, according to Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic.
Argentina finished their 2021 Copa America campaign unbeaten. Lionel Scaloni's side finished top of their group with three wins and a draw against Chile. In the quarter-final, they beat Ecuador 3-0 to progress to the final four.
'The pandemic has caused football to change a lot, and for the worse. You can see it in the matches, and I hope this all ends soon and we can get fans back into the stadiums and return to normality.'
