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.
Brazilian Neymar is set to become the next best player in the world after Argentina's Lionel Messi, according to Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic.
Liverpool took another step towards the Premier League title with a 2-0 win at Manchester City.
It rains hard and often and is a far cry from the beaches of Barcelona, yet Argentina striker Sergio Aguero believes world player of the year Lionel Messi would find Manchester to his liking. Manchester City striker Aguero said he had extolled the virtues of England's north-west city to his compatriot and Barcelona forward who is the most valuable player in the game. Messi, 28, has expressed no desire to leave Barca, where he is contracted to until 2019, but Abu-Dhabi owned Manchester City, backed by the billions of Sheikh Mansour, are one of the few clubs who could afford to buy him. "He already knows there's no beach!," Aguero, who has scored 120 goals in 185 appearances during his four-and-a-half years at the Etihad, told Sky Sports. "We play every three days so we just eat, rest between games -- so the weather is not really that important.
Barcelona's Lionel Messi beat Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo to take home the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award on Thursday.
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.
They were two small Argentina players with the same enormous challenge -- to meet the expectations of a soccer-mad country. Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi have both proved themselves to be skilful giants on the world soccer stage despite their diminutive frames of 1.65 and 1.70 metres respectively.
Two late moments of Lionel Messi magic and a goal from Neymar helped Barcelona break the resistance of Bayern Munich in a pulsating 3-0 victory in their Champions League semi-final first leg at the Nou Camp on Wednesday.
Barcelona's five-time soccer World Player of the Year Lionel Messi went on trial on Tuesday along with his father on accusations of defrauding the Spanish state of millions of euros (dollars).
Ronaldo helped Real Madrid to a second consecutive Champions League title and finished as the tournament's top scorer with 12 goals earlier this year.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Argentina captain Lionel Messi pulled his side level in the 57th minute after a handball by Paraguay's Ivan Peris which no-one on the pitch appealed for but was spotted by a VAR review.
IMAGES from the FIFA World Cup quarter-final played between Argentina and The Netherlands on Friday.
Calling his side 'weak', 'inconsistent' and 'very easy to score against', Lionel Messi called for urgent changes
Hannes Halldorsson used to make zombie films for a living but it was watching videos that let Iceland's goalkeeper outwit Lionel Messi and save a penalty on Saturday that gave his side a shock World Cup point.
Madrid-based daily Marca added that the group of supporters were also heckling ex-River player Mascherano, criticising him for "forgetting" his roots
Injured Barcelona forward Lionel Messi is almost irreplaceable but the Spanish champions are determined to put his temporary absence behind them, coach Pep Guardiola said on Tuesday.
World Player of the Year Lionel Messi has become a father for the first time following the birth of his son Thiago on Friday.
Gonzalo Higuain is training for a similar role to Lionel Messi's in the Argentina team in preparation for matches when the Barcelona forward is not playing, coach Sergio Batista said on Tuesday.
A stunning bicycle kick from Antonio Sanabria and a second-half header from Omar Alderete gave Paraguay a well earned 2-1 home win over Argentina.
"The difficult thing about him is when we are attacking, he is chilling somewhere in a corner or something," remembered Van Dijk.
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.
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.
'We were aware that if we didn't win it would be more complicated.'
In a video, released on Thursday, Neymar thanked his famous former Argentine teammate and the Catalonian club for the wonder years.
Argentina captain Lionel Messi has given the strongest hint yet he could consider leaving Barcelona, saying in an interview published in Ole newspaper on Tuesday "things can change a lot in soccer".
The Argentine striker hit a double as Barcelona beat Celtic 3-2 in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie.
'It's useless trying to make a leader out of a man who goes to the toilet 20 times before a game'
'I would never go to court against Barca because it is the club that I love, which gave me everything since I arrived. It is the club of my life, I have made my life here.'
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will resume their perennial battle to be crowned the world's best footballer after they headed the shortlist of 30 players for the 2016 Ballon d'Or announced on Monday.
Cristiano Ronaldo topped Forbes magazine's list of highest-paid athletes for the fourth time in his career.
Lionel Messi is not only Argentina's key attacking threat but he is also instrumental in helping the defence.
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said he believes Lionel Messi will sign a new contract with the Spanish champions despite reports the five times World Player of the Year is stalling over a new deal.
Lionel Messi scored within three minutes of returning to action for the first time in more than three weeks to help fire La Liga champions Barcelona to a resounding 4-0 home win over Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday.
Although Lionel Messi scored yet another fantastic goal, it was the Barcelona forward's defensive work that earned him praise from Argentina coach Diego Maradona following a 2-0 defeat of France on Wednesday. Messi, who has netted 16 goals from 19 Primera Liga this season, slalomed through the French defence, wrongfooted centre back William Gallas before coolly slotting the ball past keeper Steve Mandanda to double his team's tally seven minutes from time.
Barcelona kept up the pressure on La Liga title rivals Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid when Lionel Messi struck from the penalty spot in a 1-0 win at Espanyol in Saturday's Catalan derby.
World Player of the Year Lionel Messi scored twice as Barcelona became the first team to overturn a two-goal first-leg deficit without the benefit of an away goal to advance to the last eight 4-2 on aggregate. Following is a selection of reactions to Barcelona's 4-0 Champions League victory against AC Milan on Tuesday.
Lionel Messi netted his first hat-trick in 10 months as Barcelona swept aside struggling Granada 4-0 to climb above Atletico Madrid to the top of La Liga on Saturday.
Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde said the football world must get used to the idea that Lionel Messi will retire in the near future.
Although Ronaldinho scored a hat-trick in Barcelona's 4-1 victory over Udinese, it was the club's Argentine youngster who attracted the biggest cheer of the night.
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