Barcelona Archives ⋆ Page 20 of 34 ⋆ LSU

Dec92019 by JBNo Comments

Lionel Messi to miss Barca clash with Inter Milan as Clasico looms

La Liga

Lionel Messi has been rested for Barcelona's Champions League game with Inter Milan on Tuesday after scoring a hat-trick in a 5-2 victory over Mallorca at the weekend. The 32-year-old helped the Spanish champions go back to the top of the league on Saturday, as he celebrated winning a record sixth Ballon d'Or at the start of the week with another outstanding display. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Messi's 35th La Liga hat-trick saw him snatch Cristiano Ronaldo's long-held record for trebles in La Liga, with Antoine Griezmann and Luiz Suarez also getting in on the act for Barcelona. After overcoming persistent fitness issues at the start of the campaign, Messi has contributed 12 goals and five assists in 10 domestic outings, showing exactly why he i...

Dec52019 by JBNo Comments

Lionel Messi: It’s a shame Mane finished fourth in Ballon d’Or voting

Uncategorized

Lionel Messi has conceded to voting for Liverpool forward Sadio Mane in The Best poll and feels the Senegalese was only unfortunate to finish fourth behind himself, Virgil van Dijk and Ronaldo in the Ballon d’Or vote. Lionel Messi has added a sixth Golden Ball to his remarkable collection , with Van Dijk edged out for the second time already this year. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); The Liverpool central defender also missed out on the FIFA Best prize , with Messi claiming that honour for the first time in his football career. The exploits of those at Anfield across the last one year have helped to put their leading lights in contention for the most prestigious personal awards. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Mane sli...

Nov302019 by JBNo Comments

Messi’s speech to Barcelona team-mates before collapse at Liverpool revealed

La Liga, Premier League

Lionel Messi told his Barca team-mates they must not repeat the mistakes of their famous collapse to Roma before his team’s game with Liverpool at Anfield last May. Liverpool were trailing the Champions League semi-final tie by three goals after the first leg at the Camp Nou and Barcelona were favourites to progress. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Messi had played a key role in the first match and tried to rally his team-mates in the dressing room before the second leg at Anfield. A new documentary, Matchday: Inside Barcelona FC, has revealed what really went on behind-the-scenes at the club last campaign. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Liverpool would pull off an outstanding recovery at Anfield, winning 4-0, and ...

Nov302019 by JBNo Comments

Luis Suarez tips Tammy Abraham to replace him as Barcelona’s No9

Premier League, La Liga

Luis Suarez has been open about the fact that his Barcelona days could soon be coming to an end. The Uruguayan recently claimed he is aware Barca are looking at long-term options to replace him in the No.9 role as he approaches the latter stages of his career at the club. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); And the 32-year-old striker has now run the rule over possible replacements - identifying Tammy Abraham as the top choice. Chelsea striker Abraham has been in a remarkable form for Frank Lampard's team in the Premier League, leading to admiring glances from Luis Suarez as he watches on from Spain. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Asked by One Football which No.9s he admirers, whilst considering that the day will come whe...

Oct312019 by JBNo Comments

Pique reveals Barcelona players offered to delay salaries to re-sign Neymar

La Liga, Transfer Info

Barcelona were so keen to bring Neymar back from Paris Saint-Germain that the players were ready to accept delays to salary payments in order for the club to afford the Brazilian star. Barca spent the bulk of the summer window trying to lure Neymar back from PSG, two years after he left Camp Nou for a world record transfer fee of £200m. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); But the two teams failed to reach an agreement before the transfer deadline. Barcelona, who had already signed Antoine Griezmann for £107m from Atletico and Frenkie de Jong for £65m, were constricted in their move for Neymar by UEFA's Financial Fair Play regulations. The rules, designed to prevent football's richest owners from compressing their rivals, oblige teams to be transparen...

Oct302019 by JBNo Comments

Messi overtakes Ronaldo goal scoring record in 118 fewer matches

La Liga, Seria A

Lionel Messi was simply on fire against Valladolid as he banged in two goals for Barcelona and also added two assists, and in doing so, surpassed Cristiano Ronaldo in a club goal scoring record. Messi has now scored 608 goals for Barcelona, while Ronaldo remains on 606, which means the Argentine now takes over in the all time club career goals tally with 119 matches lesser than the Portuguese forward. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); There was plenty of class on show from the exceptional Messi against Valladolid, as he also managed to score his fiftieth free-kick in a truly outstanding career for both club and country. The little maestro also scored his 100th goal in Barcelona colours under current manager Ernesto Valverde, who had nothing but admira...

Oct292019 by JBNo Comments

When I saw Messi, I knew Barcelona would win everything – Guardiola

Trending, La Liga

Former Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola has said that, as soon as he saw Lionel Messi play for the first time, he knew the team would ‘win everything’. The now-Manchester City head coach took charge of 247 matches at Barcelona, winning La Liga three times, the Copa del Rey twice and two Champions Leagues titles, among other silverware. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Under Guardiola's tutelage, Lionel Messi was deployed as a false-nine and began to produce some of the best numbers of his career. In his second campaign under Guardiola, the Argentine more than doubled his goal tally from the year before as he sped through the early stages of his trajectory towards becoming the greatest player in the history of Barcelona. "I had already been told by ...

Oct282019 by JBNo Comments

Ronaldo: Why my Lionel Messi rivalry made me a better player

Trending, La Liga, Seria A

Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo believes his "healthy rivalry" with Barcelona counterpart Lionel Messi during his time in the Spanish League made him a better player. Both men have won the most coveted Ballon d'Or award five times and are considered to be two of the greatest footballers of all time. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Ronaldo spent nine years with Real Madrid before joining Juventus in 2018 and Lionel Messi recently acknowledged the duo spurred each other on in their quest for individual honours. The former Manchester United forward has echoed those views, telling France Football: "A lot of people said that we fed each other, that being together in Spain made us better. "That's certainly true. I felt his presence more in Madrid ...

Oct172019 by JBNo Comments

Lionel Messi explains why Virgil van Dijk is so difficult to play against

La Liga, Premier League

Lionel Messi has explained why he found it hard to play against Virgil van Dijk during Barcelona’s Champions League semi-final games against Liverpool last campaign. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Jurgen Klopp’s team were given a huge mountain to climb after losing 3-0 in the first leg of their semi-final but a 4-0 victory in the return leg at Anfield secured their place in the final. Messi scored a brace at Camp Nou but failed to make an impact in the second leg as Van Dijk and Liverpool’s defence stood firm against Barca’s attack. Van Dijk's dominant defensive displays helped Liverpool win the Champions League in June, while after that he led his national team Netherlands to the Nations League final in the summer. (adsbygoogle = window.a...

Oct92019 by JBNo Comments

Messi reveals he feared Neymar would join Real Madrid this past summer

La Liga

Lionel Messi feared Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar would move to Real Madrid in the summer window if Barcelona failed to land his signature. The Brazil international made it clear that he wanted to leave Parc des Princes but after a period of intense speculation that stretched throughout the window, he eventually stayed with the Ligue 1 champions. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Barcelona and Real Madrid were heavily linked with the 27-year-old but neither was willing to match the asking price for the prolific frontman. Messi feared that Madrid, who spent lavishly to sign the likes of Eden Hazard from Chelsea, Luka Jovic from Eintracht Frankfurt and Eder Militao during the window, would swoop in to sign Neymar. "I honestly thought that in this m...