Barcelona crashed out of the Champions League following a 3-0 defeat at Bayern Munich on Wednesday, failing to make it past the group stage of the competition for the first time since the 2000-01 season.
From the planet's costliest player Neymar to 'tiki-taka' kings Xavi and Iniesta to the ultimate sorcerer Ronaldinho, the FIFA Under-17 World Cup has been the cradle for many of world football's household names.
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.
'Luis Enrique has been very important to us and we're all at ease with him.'
Argentina's Lionel Messi was named World Player of the Year for the second time in a row on Monday, surprisingly beating his Barcelona team mates Andres Iniesta and Xavi.
Spain are still favourites to finish top of Group E above Sweden, Poland and Slovakia but, after struggling to break down conservative sides such as Georgia and Greece in March, they know coming first will not be a procession.
Lionel Messi marked his record 506th appearance for Barcelona in La Liga by scoring a penalty but the Catalans could only draw
Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo was given a chance to defend his World Player of the Year title on Monday when he was named on the shortlist for this year's accolade.
Lionel Messi still wishes to leave Barcelona after meeting new coach Ronald Koeman, according to reports in the Spanish media on Friday, as all four sports newspapers dedicated their front covers to the Argentine's uncertain future.
Calling his side 'weak', 'inconsistent' and 'very easy to score against', Lionel Messi called for urgent changes
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The 55-year-old Ernesto Valverde, who led Barcelona to successive La Liga titles in 2018 and 2019, came under fire this season for the team's dip in performance levels even though they top the league standings at the halfway point of the campaign.
Atletico Madrid secured a berth in the Champions League group stage for next season and Deportivo La Coruna narrowly escaped relegation when they came from two goals down to draw 2-2 at champions Barcelona on the final day in La Liga on Saturday.
Lionel Messi, 33, has been the team's spiritual leader throughout that time but the catalogue of failures in Europe has made the previously unthinkable scenario that he could leave Barca, where he has spent most his life, seem ever more plausible.
Lionel Messi notched his 250th La Liga goal to move one off the all-time league scoring record as leaders Barcelona won 3-0 against Eibar on Saturday ahead of next weekend's Clasico with Real Madrid.
Barcelona, Las Palmas match postponed over Catalan referendum
From Novak Djokovic's top performances to Australia's ICC World Cup victory and Sania Mirza's fabulous run, we have these and many more scintillating moments frozen in time and presented to you in this special photo-feature...
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches on Tuesday night.
Images from the Champions League matches played across Europe on Wednesday.
Images from the Champions League matches played across Europe on Wednesday.
Barca won their fifth European Cup in 2015 and the signs of decline have been evident over the past five years since -- but no-one envisaged a fall as great as this.
Alexis Sanchez struck twice and created a goal for Neymar as Barcelona recovered from conceding early to maintain their perfect La Liga start with a 4-1 win at home to Real Valladolid on Saturday.
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.
England midfielder Jack Wilshere can become one of the best players in the world after a remarkable recovery from serious injury, his national team captain Steven Gerrard has remarked.
Barcelona will be missing the lethal touch of Neymar in attack for the UEFA Super Cup against Sevilla.
Real Madrid have decided to give departing goalkeeper and captain Iker Casillas an official send-off later on Monday following criticism over the low-key nature of his tearful farewell news conference on Sunday.
Unbeaten leaders Barcelona extended their near-perfect start but again suffered the defensive lapses that have plagued them this season when Lionel Messi netted twice in a 4-2 La Liga win at Real Mallorca on Sunday.
Leaders Barcelona kept up their relentless pace at the top of La Liga with a 4-0 thrashing of city rivals Espanyol and 10-man Real Madrid needed two goals from Cristiano Ronaldo to see off Real Sociedad 4-3 on Sunday.
Spain's Euro 2012 semi-final against Portugal will almost certainly hinge on how effectively the holders manage to shackle a familiar foe.
Lionel Messi took his senior career goals tally to 301 as he scored twice in Barcelona's 5-0 victory at Rayo Vallecano which put them three points clear at the top of La Liga.
Lionel Messi does not deserve to win the next FIFA Ballon d'Or as he has only won one minor trophy this year, his former Barcelona team mate Zlatan Ibrahimovic said on Tuesday.
The midfielder played a central role for Spain in Sunday's 4-0 win over Italy as they became the first country to retain the title.
An error from Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes allowed Real Madrid to grab a late second goal, which kept them alive in the Spanish Super Cup, after Barcelona ran out 3-2 winners in Thursday's first leg.
superb diving header from Cesc Fabregas earned Barcelona a 3-1 win at Real Madrid on Saturday that lifted the champions above their bitter rivals to the top of La Liga.
Lionel Messi is on course for a record-equalling third consecutive Ballon d'Or, soccer's highest individual award, after the Argentine forward was among the three shortlisted nominees named on Monday.
Barcelona's fading hopes of capturing a fourth consecutive La Liga crown suffered a major setback when they lost 3-2 at Osasuna on Saturday to leave Real Madrid seven points clear at the top with a game in hand.
World and European champions Spain dominated the shortlist for the Player of the Year award announced on Tuesday with seven players among the 23 nominees.
For the eight Spain internationals in Barcelona's probable starting 11 for Saturday's Champions League final, victory over Manchester United at Wembley would put a gilt edge on an already spectacularly successful year.
Lionel Messi won the inaugural UEFA Best Player in Europe award on Thursday, finishing ahead of Barcelona teammate Xavi and Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo.
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