Barcelona captain, Lionel Messi has hailed Juventus superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo for giving a plus to the rivalry in El Clasico and La Liga during his time at Real Madrid. Messi also admitted that he wanted his eternal rival, Ronaldo, to continue with Real Madrid. Ronaldo left Real Madrid as their all-time highest goalscorer to join the Serie A champions, Juventus in the summer of 2018. “I wanted him [Ronaldo] to continue with Real Madrid,” Messi told RAC1. “He gave a plus to the rivalry in the Clasico and La Liga.” Messi added: “Real Madrid will continue to challenge because they have very good players, but I already said that the team was going to feel his loss for what he meant and that the squad would notice. “But they have plenty of players to allow them to fight for every title and they have a lot of history.”

O ne of the first names on the shopping list at Barcelona is reportedly interested in moving to Real Madrid despite Lionel Messi’s insistence. Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez has become one of the most lethal goal scorers in Europe under Antonio Conte this season. The Argentina international has scored 13 goals and assisted 3 more in a highly effective partnership alongside Romelu Lukaku in the final-third that has seen him be the subject of interest for Barcelona and Real Madrid. Barcelona are interested in signing a replacement for Luis Suarez soon. The Uruguay international has aged and shown signs of inconsistency and depletion in quality over the last few seasons, and has even admitted himself that the club needs to scout for a successor. Lautaro Martinez, on Lionel Messi’s recommendation is a key target. Real Madrid on the other hand signed Luka Jovic during the summer, but have not seen the best of the former Eintracht Frankfurt forward just yet. The fact that he

Although  Lionel Messi  may already be looking ahead towards retirement, his performances will last forever, as he makes sure with each passing game. His latest exhibition against  Real Mallorca  included a golden hat-trick and also helped him to achieve some incredible statistics. At 32 years of age, he missed the first four games of the 2019/20  LaLiga Santander  season due to injury but is already the top scorer with 12 goals in 10 games, now surpassing  Karim Benzema 's 11 goals, with the French striker having played 14 games. His fitness issues cost him early on, not scoring his first of the season until October 6 against  Sevilla , but he has scored in every league game since, apart from one blank against  Leganes . They have been split between one strike against  Sevilla ,  Eibar ,  Levante and  Atletico Madrid , a brace against  Real Valladolid , and a hat-trick each against  Celta Vigo  and  Mallorca . His goal per game average is among the best in his car

LIONEL MESSI is the greatest player of all-time and is more entertaining to watch than Cristiano Ronaldo. That is accroding to former Inter Milan and Uruguay forward Alvaro Recoba. Messi and Ronaldo are widely regarded as being the best two players of their generation and they have taken the game to a new level in recent years. Until last year where Luka Modris won the award, either Messi or Ronaldo had won the last ten Ballon d'Or trophies on offer. The award has been shared five times each and the debate as to who is the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) goes on and on. Lionel Messi branded 'best of all time' after comparison in career of Cristiano Ronaldo (Pic: GETTY) And both can state a solid claim as to who is the best when all things are considered. Messi has played for Barcelona for the whole of his career and has won everything there is to win at club level. The Argentina international helped himself to a tenth La Liga crown of his career last

The Argentina captain suggested that the 2019 Copa America was rigged in favour of hosts Brazil after his controversial sending off against Chile CONMEBOL have handed Lionel Messi a $1500 fine for his inflammatory comments claiming that there was "corruption" within the federation relating to the Copa America tournament. Additionally, the Argentina star will serve a one-game suspension for the red card he received against Chile in the competition’s third-place match. The Barcelona forward clashed with Gary Medel in the first half of the match, with both players given their marching orders after coming together and the former appearing to aim a headbutt at his opponent. Messi sounded off against the South American federation earlier this month, but they have responded with a negligible fine and no further suspension beyond the automatic one-game punishment for a red card. After being sent off against Chile, Messi skipped the Copa America medal ceremony, clearly still ups

Coutinho💫 admits his Barcelona🔷 Future is Uncertain* Barcelona midfielder Philippe Coutinho says "we do not know what is going to happen" regarding his future at the Nou Camp, admitting that last season was a disappointment to him. Coutinho signed for the La Liga champions from Liverpool for £142m in January 2018. His deal with the Catalan club runs until the summer of 2023. "Many things that come out in the media are simply not true but as for my future, we do not know what is going to happen, that is the truth," said the 27-year-old. Coutinho also said:   "Honestly, it wasn't a good season. It didn't produce what I wanted, it didn't go as I hoped. But I hope it serves me as an example, as a lesson so that I want more, concentrate even more to be able to succeed. Whether a good or bad season, it doesn't change anything. The desire to win is always the same, or maybe even more so. It was always my will to succeed in this club, but now I am t

TRANSFERS BARCELONA ATLÉTICO MADRID ANTOINE GRIEZMANN A protracted transfer saga has finally reached its end, with the World Cup winner swapping the Spanish capital for Catalunya Barcelona have officially announced the signing of Antoine Griezmann from Atletico Madrid, with the French forward putting pen-to-paper after the Blaugrana paid his full €120m (£107m/$134m) release clause. The former Real Sociedad forward and 2018 World Cup winner has signed at the Camp Nou for the next five seasons through to June 2024 – a contract that includes a buyout clause of €800m. The move has not been without drama, as Atleti recently hit out at both Barca and Griezmann himself for their conduct after it was revealed that the two parties had been in negotiations and reached an agreement in March - a time during which Diego Simeone's side were still fighting in La Liga and the Champions League. Indeed, Atletico were only informed by the World Cup winner in May that he wanted to leave at th

Gerard Pique has apparently set up a meet with Matthijs de Ligt as the Ajax star unwinds in the Bahamas, to try and persuade him to join Barcelona. Francesc Aguilar of Mundo Deportivo tweets that Barcelona defensive stalwart Gerard Pique is travelling to the Bahamas specifically to meet with Matthijs de Ligt in an attempt to convince the youngster to join. De Ligt, who played a starring role in Ajax’s run to the semifinals of the Champions League and guided Netherlands to the UEFA Nations Cup finals, was told by Cristiano Ronaldo to join Juventus after the match. As a result, reports suggest that de Ligt has indeed looked Turin-bound of late. Barcelona, however, are not ready to throw in the towel yet as they send their premier defender as an emissary to convince the young centre back to join the Catalan club. It was rumoured that one of the reasons why de Ligt is leading away from a move to Barcelona has to do with the lack of playing time that he may contend with should he move

*Coutinho💫 admits his Barcelona🔷 Future is Uncertain* Barcelona midfielder Philippe Coutinho says "we do not know what is going to happen" regarding his future at the Nou Camp, admitting that last season was a disappointment to him. Coutinho signed for the La Liga champions from Liverpool for £142m in January 2018. His deal with the Catalan club runs until the summer of 2023. "Many things that come out in the media are simply not true but as for my future, we do not know what is going to happen, that is the truth," said the 27-year-old. Coutinho also said:  "Honestly, it wasn't a good season. It didn't produce what I wanted, it didn't go as I hoped. But I hope it serves me as an example, as a lesson so that I want more, concentrate even more to be able to succeed. Whether a good or bad season, it doesn't change anything. The desire to win is always the same, or maybe even more so. It was always my will to succeed in this club, but no

REAL MADRID BARCELONA PRIMERA DIVISIÓN LIONEL MESSI CRISTIANO RONALDO A galaxy of stars have lit up the Santiago Bernabeu down the years, but no effort has ever been made to lure the Argentina icon from Barcelona Real Madrid have favoured a Galactico recruitment policy for some time, but Jeronimo Farre has explained why no effort has ever been made to lure Lionel Messi from Barcelona. A galaxy of stars have made their way to the Santiago Bernabeu down the years and some have even crossed the Clasico divide having previously spent time at Camp Nou. Luis Figo famously swapped the Blaugrana for the Blancos in 2000, while Brazilian striker Ronaldo ended up in the Spanish capital after taking in an earlier spell in Catalunya. Other notable deals have seen the likes of Zinedine Zidane, David Beckham, Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo link up with Madrid. Messi would have been expected to register on Real’s transfer radar at some stage, regardless of his strong ties to Barca. Ther

Messi's $84m income highlighted by United Nations in attack on women footballers' pay LIONEL MESSI BARCELONA The yearly earnings of the Argentine forward have been used to emphasise the pay gap between sexes UN Women, an entity of the United Nations, has highlighted the yearly earnings of Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi as an example in their campaign to reduce the wage gap between men and women in sport. The intergovernmental organisation utilised their Facebook page to highlight the US$84 million-a-year income from his salary, bonuses, commercial deals and other payments being nearly double of the combined annual wage ($42.6m) of the 1,693 women footballers in the top seven leagues. "One male soccer player makes almost double the combined salaries of all players in the top seven women's soccer leagues," the UN post read.  Pay discrimination has been a hot topic during the Women's World Cup in France, with 28 U.S. women's national team players c

Brazil legend, Ronaldinho, on Monday congratulated Barcelona and Argentina captain, Lionel Messi, on his 32nd birthday. Ronaldinho, who took to his verified Twitter handle, wished Messi good health, happiness and success as he marks another year. The 39-year-old wrote: “Congratulations Leo! I wish you all better, health, happiness and success! I hope to see you soon, brother.” Ronaldinho played alongside Messi during his time at Barcelona. The former Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan star gave Messi his first Barcelona goal on 1st May 2005, with an assist in the club’s 2-0 victory over Albacete at Camp Nou. Messi is currently on international duty for the 2019 Copa America in Brazil.

Copa América 2019  The Argentine crack meets this Monday 32 years ... with the pass to rooms as a gift Messi (32), at the end of the game. AFP Juan Castro Porto Alegre06/24/2019  00:44 CEST Messi meets on Monday 32 years and his gift was a qualification for the quarterfinals. This said in mixed zone with MARCA present: Classification  : "I am happy with the qualification, they are difficult games to play because of the fear of not qualifying, which is why victory is important". Improvements  : "Surely we have to improve in what is coming, but we need a victory like that to arrive with confidence to the important thing that comes, to the all or nothing, now we can not make more mistakes, start another Cup". Mark early  : "It was important to score early, we went to look for them from the beginning, and that pressure was what made them make a mistake in the first goal, then the fear of having a goal made us go back, and the second part was more quiet"

A Camp Nou legend believes a fellow Brazilian would be a more logical signing for the Liga champions than a World Cup winner at Atletico Madrid Barcelona have been advised to shelve any interest in Antoine Griezmann and instead look to bring Neymar back to the club, with Rivaldo seeing a move for the Brazilian making more sense. Those at Camp Nou are currently mulling over their options for the summer transfer window. A new frontman is considered to figure prominently on their wish list, with several options being mooted. Griezmann, as a long-standing target, was expected to be snapped up after requesting a switch away from Atletico Madrid. No approach has been made, though, for the French World Cup winner. That is leaving the door open for others, with Neymar having been linked with a retracing of his steps to Catalunya from Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain. Barca legend Rivaldo told  Betfair  on the approach he would take: “If I could choose one player to sign for Barcelo

The France Football Ballon d'Or For the first time in nearly 10 years, the Ballon d'Or, the greatest individual honour in professional football is no longer a two horse race. The last ten Ballon d'Ors have been split evenly between Ronaldo and Messi and, with the exception of a few seasons, those two have been a class apart from the rest of the footballing world. Not this season though. Of course, they've both had pretty spectacular seasons by mere mortal standards, but they've also fallen short of the lofty standards they set for themselves. Other players are catching up and this might finally be the year a player breaks the duopoly. Here are seven serious contenders for the Ballon d'Or.  Before we move on to the seven contenders, let us first take a look at a few honourable mentions. Mohamed Salah : Mo Salah had a phenomenal first season with Liverpool, scoring 32 Premier League goals as part of Liverpool's dynamite attack and scored 10 goals in the

Lionel Messi has identified liverpool's left-footed star, Mohamed Salah as his replacement in Camp Nou Barcelona captain Lionel Messi has told the club board to sign the Egyptian International this summer as his replacement, Messi will be 32 by next month according to Sportskeeda. According to report,Barcelona will have to break the bank to sign Salah as Liverpool will demand in excess of €220million from the La Liga champions for their star man. The report also claimed that messi want Salah to become his successor at the Catalan club once he eventually retires from the Blaugrana. Mohammed Salah has been exceptional for Jurgen Klopp’s men since he joined the Club from As Roma in 2017. Salah lead the Reds to this season’s UEFA Champions League final where they will tackle Tottenham Hotspur on June 1 in Madrid.

The Qatari club Al Sadd has officially appointed Barca legend.Xavi will have a full-Spanish crew at Al Sadd. Al Sadd have officially announced that Xavi Hernandez is the club's new manager. He will coach the team next season with Sergio Oriol, Ivan Torres, Oscar Hernández, Jose Manuel, David Barts, Antonio Lobo, Sergio Garcia and Antonio Troulas helping him. AlSadd S.C | نادي السد ✔ @AlsaddSC رسمياً :  #تشافي  مدرباً للفريق بدايةً من الموسم القادم .. وسيبدأ تشافي مهامه مع طاقمة الذي يضم  سيرجيو اوريول، إيفان توريس، أوسكار هيرنانديز، جوزيه مانويل ، ديفيد باراتس،انتونيو لوبو ، سيرجيو غارسيا ، انتونيو ترامولاس #السد AlSadd S.C | نادي السد ✔ @AlsaddSC رسمياً : المايسترو تشافي يجدد عقده مع الزعيم لسنتين اضافيتين ليستمر فرداً من عائلة السد الكبيره    #السد#قطر 2,110 12:49 PM - May 28, 2019 Twitter Ads info and privacy 849 people are talking about this Some parts of Al Sadd's summer pre-season will take place in Girona, Catalonia. Many expect Xavi to return to Barc

The decision has been made - Valverde will not coach Barcelona next season. According to a highly reputable Catalan journalist Gerard Romero, Barcelona will announce that Ernesto Valverde will leave the club soon. Romero cites the report of RAC1's Jordi Baste. "I understand that Barca will soon communicate to Valverde that they do not count on him anymore," the journalist told the Catalan radio station. Another top Catalan reporter, Alfredo Martinez, has also confirmed that Valverde's dismissal will be made public soon. Martinez cites Diario Sport who claim that Roberto Martinez and Thierry Henry are the main candidates to replace the Basque coach. Romero has just provided more details saying that the announcement might not necessarily arrive today but the decision has been made - Valverde will not coach Barcelona next season. Alfredo Martinez claims that the club have refuted the information about the firm decision regarding Valverde's future. Howev

The French forward remembers his spell with Barcelona. He was utterly amazed by Messi's super-strike vs Malaga in 2008. He believes it was the best goal by the Argentine. “The best goal I’ve seen him score was against Malaga at home because that defied logic what he did,” Henry said.  “Diagonal ball, he controls it on his chest, runs full speed. The first player goes, the second player is just behind. He takes another step, that player can clear the ball." “If he’s got the ball on his left foot here, how do you go back with that same leg and touch the ball in the air, in between the two to make sure that guy doesn’t touch it - and then almost fail but smash it into the top corner. That's not normal."

It took three weeks for Barcelona to get their dreams of a treble shattered after Champions League elimination and Copa del Rey final defeat to Valencia, turning the end of the season into hours of silent contemplation of who's to be blamed for poor results.  So, who's to be blamed after all? Ernesto Valverde: Couldn't prepare the team psychologically for the return leg vs Liverpool;Incapable to recover the squad for he Copa del Rey final;Conservative line-up for some important games; Weird decisions to play injured players;Countinho dilemma;4-4-2 which doesn't sit well with Barcelona's way of playing football. I don’t wanna hear a name anymore!! Valverde!!! The squad: Messi did great at both Anfield and Mestalla;Couldn't do anything in terms of leadership in both cases;The team suffered mental block at Anfield - the stadium was too loud and too aggressive;Our players didn't have the class playing vs Liverpool's reserve strikers;Absolute nonchala