Barcelona suffered a shock 2-1 home defeat by Granada on Thursday, conceding two second-half goals to blow the chance of moving top of La Liga.
Messi and his Argentina teammates are currently participating the Copa America in Brazil where he is hoping to lead his team to the title, having finished runners-up in the 2016 edition.
A fairytale moment unfolded at the Wankhede as Virat Kohli climbed to the summit, overtaking the legendary Sachin Tendulkar.
The Argentine then lifted his shirt to reveal a red and black replica kit of his hometown club Newell's Old Boys bearing the number 10 which Maradona wore during his brief spell at the Rosario side in 1993.
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.
The UEFA Champions League resumes this week and this family time will be an ideal break to get back to business.
Sporadic incidents of violence reported from various parts of Kerala following Argentina win
A majestic solo dribble shredded Chelsea's defence before Messi played in Dembele for the second and the Argentine maestro killed the tie off when he smashed a third through the legs of Courtois again in the second half.
Messi's fitness was a major concern ahead of the resumption -- the talismanic forward was dealing with a quadriceps injury. But he has suffered no further setbacks since returning to training with the rest of the squad at the start of the week.
Spain's footballing giants, FC Barcelona won their 23rd La Liga crown after defeating Atletico Madrid 1-0 on Sunday. And after winning, what was their fifth title in seven years, the Barca players let their hair down and celebrated in style at the Vincent Calderon stadium. Rediff.com invites you a peek into their wild celebrations. Have a look...
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.
Chhetri and his wife Sonam Bhattacharya were blessed with their son Dhruv in August. Chhetri said that has changed his perspective on life.
Croatia's defeat meant this could be the end of the road for Luka Modric as far as his international career is concerned.
Former India captain and current Under-19 coach Rahul Dravid visited Camp Nou to witness Barcelona playing against Athletico Madrid in the La Liga clash on Sunday.
Argentina players will do everything in their power in Russia to help the team lift the World Cup trophy again after falling at the last hurdle four years ago in Brazil, defender Marcos Rojo has said.
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.
Spanish media claims that the Barca talisman was in talks to move to City, a claim that City coach Guardiola denies.
A sense of euphoria was in the air in the country, particularly in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Palermo, where thousands of jubilant fans crowded to watch the match on a giant screen in the park.
It was the Portuguese who emphatically came out on top, scoring two penalties as Juventus triumphed 3-0 to claim top spot in Group G.
Paris St Germain manager Thomas Tuchel says Lionel Messi would be welcome at the club if he ever decided to leave Barcelona but he does not expect the Argentine forward to do so.
Messi, Barca's all-time top scorer, has been a vice-captain since 2015 and takes the club's armband from Iniesta, who succeeded Xavi Hernandez as captain in 2015 but left for Japanese club Vissel Kobe in June.
Laporta, whose first spell in charge between 2003 and 2010 garnered unprecedented success, announced his candidacy for a second term on Monday.
Lautaro said Argentina dominated the match against the Saudis and did not deserve to lose, having three goals ruled out for close offside calls by VAR.
"I think a comparison with Messi is something like an honour," Musiala told a news conference.
Argentina's two iconic players may be contrasting characters but they shared many traits
A frustrated Lionel Messi said he is tired of being blamed for problems at Barcelona after he was accused by Antoine Griezmann's former agent of making life difficult for the French striker at the La Liga club.
The crowd in Tel Aviv cheered Messi throughout and it was the forward who helped Argentina draw level in the 63rd.
A Spanish court said on Friday it has exchanged a 21-month prison sentence handed to Soccer player Lionel Messi for tax fraud last July for a quarter-of-a-million-euro fine.
Barcelona are taking measures to cut the wages of their players and staff to reduce the economic effects of the coronavirus crisis, the La Liga club said on Thursday. All professional players at Barcelona, including six-times world player of the year Lionel Messi, as well as non-playing staff, will face a compulsory wage reduction during the period of lockdown, the club's directors decided at a board meeting held via video conference.
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.
Diego Maradona says Lionel Messi's second-half penalty miss was not the reason Argentina failed to defeat Iceland at the World Cup on Saturday.
La Liga on Sunday released a statement saying Lionel Messi's Barcelona contract is still valid, days after his shock announcement that he wants to leave the club and hours after he failed to attend a pre-season medical.
Barcelona star Lionel Messi is 'worried' over the coronavirus outbreak and said it is 'time to be responsible and stay at home'.
Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona's Lionel Messi, who have won the award 10 times between them, are included
Messi announced he wanted to leave Barcelona, on Tuesday, after spending his entire career at the Catalan club.
Here are all the records he can break this year.
Koeman grateful for Messi support in transitional season for Barca.
The Argentine's representatives and Barcelona did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The 27-year-old Argentine posted a selfie on Facebook featuring his girlfriend Antonella Roccuzzo and 22-month old son Thiago.
