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Tag: Messi

  • Messi praises Ronaldo over Champions League hat-trick

    Messi praises Ronaldo over Champions League hat-trick

    Lionel Messi saluted Cristiano Ronaldo’s efforts from the previous night after producing a superb display of his own in Barcelona’s thrashing of Lyon on Wednesday.

    Messi scored two goals and set up two more at the Nou Camp as Barca triumphed 5-1 against the French side in their Champions League last-16 second leg, three weeks on from leg one ending goalless.

    On Tuesday, his old rival Ronaldo’s hat-trick secured Juventus a 3-0 win over Atletico Madrid for a 3-2 victory on aggregate.

    Messi was quoted by Marca as saying after the Lyon game: “What Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus did was impressive.

    “I thought Atletico Madrid would be tougher. Ronaldo had a magical night with three goals.”

    Regarding Friday’s draw for the quarter and semi-finals, Messi added: “All of the opponents are complicated.

    “Ajax (who beat Real Madrid in the last 16), for example, showed that they’re an amazing team of youngsters and they don’t fear anyone.

    “It’ll be difficult no matter who we face. We have to prepare ourselves for a tough challenge.”

  • Messi has ‘only one skill’, I have several – Pele

    Messi has ‘only one skill’, I have several – Pele

    Football legend, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known as Pelé has stated that he is out of the league of five-time Ballon d’Or winner, Lionel Messi and there is no basis for comparison.

    Pele said, Lionel Messi “only has one skill”, and even his fellow Argentine Diego Maradona was “much better” than him, reports Goal.com.

    Pele suggested that the 31-year-old is one-dimensional and too reliant on his left foot to be compared to other iconic figures at the top of the football game.

    A man, who netted over 1000 goals in his career and won the World Cup on three occasions told Brazillian media, Folha de Sao Paulo, “How can you make a comparison between a guy who heads the ball well, shoots with the left, shoots with the right and another who only shoots with one leg, only has one skill and doesn’t head the ball well?”

    “How can you compare? To compare with Pele, it has to be someone who shoots well with the left, shoots well with the right, and scores headers.”

    Pele added, “As far as I’m concerned, Maradona was one of the best players ever. If you ask me, ‘Was he better than Messi?’ Yes, he was. Much better.

    “[Franz] Beckenbauer, [Johan] Cruyff were also excellent players.”

     

  • Lionel Messi is my idol, says Neymar

    Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar says former Barcelona team-mate Lionel Messi is his “idol” and has described Cristiano Ronaldo as a footballing “monster”.
    The Brazil international spent four years playing alongside Messi at the Nou Camp, with the pair forming two-thirds of the ‘MSN’ partnership along with Luis Suarez which helped Barcelona win two La Liga titles, three Copa del Rey crowns and a Champions League during his time at the club.
    Neymar, who joined Ligue 1 giant PSG for £198m in 2017, also faced Ronaldo on many occasions during his time in Spain and, in a conversation with basketball great Steph Curry for The Players’ Tribune, praised the pair and said he is always looking to learn from them.
    “Facing Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo – and I played with Messi, who is, for me, one of the greatest footballers of all time, and he is my idol in football,” Neymar said.
    “With Messi, I learned every day, whether during our practice, or playing with him, or just watching him play. And that made me stronger and it increased my capacity on the field because I kept learning a lot from him.
    “As for Cristiano Ronaldo, he is a monster. Facing him is a pleasure and an honour, but we have to be more prepared. He is one of the greatest in football so you get smarter, you get alert, but at the same time you learn a lot, too.
    “So, they are two of the big guys that I can relate to, because I want to learn, I want more, I want to win, I want more trophies, score more goals … so I keep learning from them every day.”

  • No Messi, No Ronaldo: Who will headline the El Clasico on Sunday ?

    Spanish La Liga biggest match will not feature Barcelona’s Lionel Messi or Former Real Madrid star Cristiano Roanldo on Sunday’s El Clasico clash at Camp Nou, which has been a personal playground for two larger-than-life global icons.
    Cristiano Ronaldo, of course, has departed for Juventus after a nine-year stay in Madrid that yielded 450 goals and 15 trophies including four Champions League crowns.
    And now Lionel Messi is absent too, with Barca’s talisman sidelined after breaking his arm in last weekend’s 4-2 victory against Sevilla – a result that sent the reigning champions top of the table and gives them the chance to move seven points clear of struggling Real on Sunday.
    Madrid Coach Julen Lopetegui has come in for fierce criticism this season, having presided over a run of five games without a win.
    The team going eight hours and one minute without scoring before Tuesday’s unconvincing 2-1 triumph over Viktoria Plzen that saw the team whistled off the pitch by their own fans.
    While, Barcelona maintained their 100% start in this season’s Champions League as they cruised to victory over Inter Milan at the Nou Camp on Wednesday in Messi’s absence.
    Messi has been in scintillating form this season, scoring seven and laying on another five goals in Spain’s top flight, while also hitting five in the Champions League.
    Where are Madrid’s goals without Ronaldo?
    To say that Madrid are finding it difficult to come to terms with the summer departures of Ronaldo and equally legendary coach Zinedine Zidane is putting it mildly.
    Los Blancos have drawn one and lost three of their past four league games, including shock defeats by Alaves and Levante, to drop down to seventh in the table and leave new manager Julen Lopetegui’s position hanging by a thread.
    The root of their problems is obvious: they have only scored once in those four games, and that came from left-back Marcelo in last weekend’s 2-1 home defeat by Levante.
    When Madrid won the league and Champions League double in 2017, 48 league goals were provided by Ronaldo, Alvaro Morata and James Rodriguez. All of them have now left, with only the unproven Mariano Diaz added.
    Who will replace Messi ?
    Barca boss Ernesto Valverde had a simple answer when asked how he intended to compensate for the loss of Messi in the aftermath of the Argentine’s injury last weekend, saying: “I don’t know.”, BBC reports
    But, for the short-term, Barca do have to find a way of replacing him, and at least Valverde has plenty of options at his disposal.
    The most obvious is Ousmane Dembele, the speedy winger who was signed in a £135.5m deal from Borussia Dortmund following the departure of Neymar before the start of last season.
    But Dembele’s time at the club so far has been maddeningly inconsistent, with the Frenchman looking equally likely to race past three opponents or sloppily concede possession whenever he receives the ball, and regularly provoking the ire of Luis Suarez by concluding a promising run with a wasteful cross or over-ambitious shot.

     
     
     

  • Messi fractures arm, ruled out of action against Real Madrid, others

    Messi fractures arm, ruled out of action against Real Madrid, others

    FC Barcelona captain Lionel Messi will be out of action for three weeks after he fractured his right arm during Saturday’s 4-2 La Liga win over Sevilla, a club statement said.
    The injury ruled him out of the ‘Clasico’ against arch rivals Real Madrid on Oct. 28.
    Ousmane Dembele replaced Messi in the 25th minute after the Argentine was examined by club doctors on the sidelines following a challenge by Sevilla’s Franco Vazquez.
    The Barca star player, who had set up Philippe Coutinho’s opening goal in the second minute and scored their second, looked in serious pain as he left the pitch.
    His right arm was in a bandage as he trudged off.
    “Obviously it’s a considerable loss,” said Barca coach Ernesto Valverde.
    “We know what he gives us and what we miss when he is not around. We have to deal with it and we will be prepared.
    “It’s clear that we will notice his absence, but we will cope and we have resources, even though we will be facing some very difficult teams.”
    In addition to missing the ‘Clasico, Barca’s all-time top scorer will be unavailable in Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League clash at home to Inter Milan.
    He will also miss the return game in Milan on Nov. 6 as well.
    Barca defender Gerard Pique admitted Messi’s absence would have an impact on the team, but backed his side to come through their next few games without dropping too many points.
    “He gives us a lot of peace of mind when he is around but we don’t have to suffer without him,” he said.
    “There’s a big difference between having him on the pitch or not but we have a strong enough team to win games whether he plays or not.”
     
     

  • Messi goes to the toilet too much to be a leader – Maradona

    Messi goes to the toilet too much to be a leader – Maradona

    Argentina football legend, Diego Maradona has said Lionel Messi is not a good leader, accusing the fellow countryman of “going to the bathroom 20 times before a game”.
    The Barcelona talisman has been handed the captain’s armband by his country, but that role has been questioned by Maradona.
    At 31 years of age and having spent more than a decade as an elite performer in the global game, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner is accustomed to shouldering pressure and expectation.
    He has, however, struggled with the burden of captaincy at times , despite having taken the armband for club and country in recent years.
    Maradona believes Messi is the wrong choice for Argentina as, while he is unquestionably their best player, he lacks the personal skills required to inspire those around him.
    The 1986 World Cup winner, who saw the Albiceleste struggle at Russia 2018 over the summer, told La Ultima Palabra Mexico : “Messi’s a great player, but he’s not a leader.
    “Before talking to the coach and players, he’ll play on the PlayStation. Then, on the field, he wants to be the leader. He’s the best in the world with Cristiano [Ronaldo].
    “For me, it’s difficult to say it but it’s useless to make a leader out of a man who goes to the bathroom 20 times before a game.
    “There’s no two ways about it. Let’s stop making a God out of Messi. Messi is just another player for Argentina.”
    Messi has not figured for his country since suffering a last-16 exit in his latest showing on a World Cup stage.
    He has ruled himself out of contention, with interim coach Lionel Scaloni being forced to call upon attacking alternatives.
    Argentina remain hopeful that an all-time great can be brought back into the fold , but Maradona believes less needs to be asked of him before a recall can be considered.
    He added: “I wouldn’t call him up right now, but never say never. We have to take the pressure off him.

  • I want to break Messi's records – Harry Kane

    Tottenham striker Harry Kane hopes he can one day emulate, and perhaps break, the goalscoring records of Barcelona forward Lionel Messi.

    Kane, 25, will line up against Messi on Wednesday when Spurs host Barcelona at Wembley in Group B of the Champions League.
    “He’s definitely set the standard for the rest of us and it motivates me to get even better,” Kane said.
    “Hopefully one day I can score as many, if not more, than he has.”
    England captain Kane has been the Premier League’s top scorer for two of the past three seasons and won the Golden Boot at the World Cup in Russia.
    His two goals against Huddersfield last weekend put him on 145 for Tottenham, taking him past Jermain Defoe and into fifth place on the club’s top scorers list.
    However, he is a long way behind Argentine Messi, who has scored 560 goals in 646 games for Barcelona in all competitions, with 103 of those coming in the Champions League.
    “Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have gone above the norm, when they’re scoring 50 or 60 goals a season,” said Kane.
    “As players you want to play against the best in the world and Messi is certainly that. We will do our best to stop him.”
    Argentina’s Messi currently holds multiple scoring records, including the most goals in a calendar year. He scored 91 goals in 69 games for club and country in 2012.

  • Messi should stop playing for Argentina – Maradona

    Messi should stop playing for Argentina – Maradona

    Argentina legend Diego Maradona has told Lionel Messi to retire from international football for good.
    Messi was heavily criticised in his homeland after Argentina’s round of 16 exit – at the hands of eventual winners France – at this summer’s World Cup.
    The Barcelona star has since not featured for the Albiceleste, missing the friendlies with Guatemala and Colombia in September.
    And now Maradona has advised the 31-year-old to just walk away for good, leaving the mess that the national side has become behind.
    “What would I tell Messi? To not come back any more. To retire,” Maradona told Clarin.
    “The under-15s lose and it’s Messi’s fault. The fixture in Argentina puts Racing against Boca and Messi is to blame. It’s always his fault. Stop breaking my balls.
    “I would tell him: “Don’t go anymore, man”. Let’s see if they can handle that. Let’s see if they’re really big men.
    “I would have liked to see him tell us all to f*** off because he’s not to blame for us not being world champions.”
    Messi will miss the upcoming fixtures with Iraq and Brazil also, but new coach Lionel Scaloni continues to keep the No.10 shirt free.

  • Kylie Jenner, Ronaldo, Messi others make Forbes’ list of highest-paid entertainers

    Kylie Jenner, Ronaldo, Messi others make Forbes’ list of highest-paid entertainers

    Lionel Messi, Floyd Mayweather, Christiano Ronaldo, Kylie Jenner and other entertainers have made the newly-released Forbes list of World’s Highest-Paid Entertainers for 2018.

     

    Acclaimed boxing champion, Floyd Mayweather tops the ranking with $285 million in pre-tax earnings, almost entirely on the strength of his August 2017 fight versus Conor McGregor.

     

    George Clooney finishes second with $239 million, while Kylie Jenner pulled in $166.5 million to claim the No. 3 spot, courtesy of her beauty business.

     

    Judge Judy Sheindlin’s $147 million put her at No. 4 – assisted by the sale of her TV library for $100 million, while Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson rounds out the top five with $124 million thanks to blockbusters like the newly-released Skyscraper.

     

    Others on the list are U2, Coldplay, Lionel Messi, Ed Sheeran, Cristiano Ronaldo and others.

     

    According to Forbes, the Celebrity 100 list ranks front-of-camera stars around the globe using their pre-tax earnings from June 1, 2017 through June 1, 2018.

     

    See full list below:

     

    1. Floyd Mayweather $285

    2.George Clooney $239

    3.Kylie Jenner $166.5

    1. Judy Sheindlin $147
    2. Dwayne Johnson $124

    6.U2 -$118

    1. Coldplay- $115. 5
    2. Lionel Messi – $111
    3. Ed Sheeran – $110 M
    4. Cristiano Ronaldo $108 M
    5. Bruno Mars $100 M
    6. Conor McGregor $99M
    7. Neymar $90M

    13.Howard Stern $90 M

    1. Ellen DeGeneres $87.5 M
    2. James Patterson $86M
    3. LeBron James -$85.5 M
    4. Rush Limbaugh -$84.5 M

    19Katy Perry- $83 M

    20Robert Downey Jr.53$81 M

    1. Taylor Swift -$80 M
    2. Dr. Phil McGraw- $77.5 M

    23.Roger Federer- $77.2 M

    1. Stephen Curry- $76.9 M
    2. Jay-Z- $76.5 M
    3. Ryan Seacrest- $74 M
    4. Guns N’ Roses-$71 M
    5. Roger Waters-$68 M
    6. Matt Ryan- $67.3 M
    7. Kim Kardashian West- $67 M
    8. Chris Hemsworth-$64.5 M
    9. Sean Combs- $64 M
    10. David Copperfield- $62 M
    11. Gordon Ramsay- $62 M

    35.Beyoncé Knowles36$60 M

    1. Matthew Stafford- $59.5 M
    2. Kendrick Lamar-$58 M
    3. Jerry Seinfeld- $57.5 M
    4. Kevin Hart- $57 M
    5. The Weeknd- $57 M
    6. The Eagles- $56M
    7. J.K. Rowling52$54M
    8. Kevin Durant29$53.7M
    9. Depeche Mode-$53 M
    10. Luke Bryan42$52 M
    11. Pink- $52 M
    12. Jimmy Buffett- $51 M
    13. Lewis Hamilton- $51M
    14. Lady Gaga- $50 M
    15. Calvin Harris – $48 M
    16. Paul McCartney- $47.5 M
    17. Russell Westbrook- $47.5 M
    18. Drake – $47 M
    19. Foo Fighters-$47 M
    20. Jennifer Lopez- $47 M
    21. James Harden- $46.4 M
    22. Elton John- $46 M
    23. Metallica-$46 M
    24. Garth Brooks -$45.5 M
    25. Jackie Chan- $45.5 M
    26. The Chainsmokers-$45.5 M
    27. Canelo Alvarez -$44.5 MNA
    28. Steve Harvey -$44 M
    29. Simon Cowell -$43.5 M
    30. Billy Joel $43.5 M
    31. Tiger Woods $43.3 M
    32. Drew Brees $42.9 M
    33. Sofía Vergara $42.5 M
    34. Sebastian Vettel $42.3 M
    35. Derek Carr $42.1 M
    36. Will Smith $42 M
    37. Rafael Nadal $41.4 M
    38. Alex Smith $41.4 M
    39. Phil Mickelson $41.3 M
    40. Jordan Spieth $41.2 M
    41. Scarlett Johansson- 40.5 M
    42. Akshay Kumar- $40.5 M
    43. Adam Sandler- $39.5 M
    44. Damian Lillard- $39.2 M
    45. Anthony Joshua-$39 M
    46. Rolling Stones-$39 M
    47. Salman Khan52$37.7 M
    48. Rory McIlroy29$37.7 M
    49. Kris Jenner- $37.5 M
    50. Rihanna $37.5 M
    51. Bruce Springsteen $37.5 M
    52. Kenny Chesney $37 M
    53. Trumaine Johnson $37 M
    54. Imagine Dragons- $36.5 M
    55. Jimmy Garoppolo $36.2 M
    56. Kyrie Irving $36.1 M
    57. Sean Hannity $36 M
    58. Giannis Antetokounmpo $35.5
    59. J. Cole-$35.5 M
    60. Blake Griffin29$35.5 MNA
    61. Ryan Tannehill29$35.2 MNA
    62. Von Miller29$35.1 M
    63. Dave Chappelle44$35 M
    64. Dr. Dre53$35 M
    65. Nas $35M

     

  • Sevilla 0 Barcelona 5: Suarez and Messi lead crushing Copa final win

    Barcelona have won their first trophy of the season, after they crushed Sevilla 5-0 in the Copa del Rey.

    The Catalans saw their hopes of a Treble extinguished, after they were dumped out of the Champions League, following an incredible Roma comeback in Italy.

    However, Ernesto Valverde has landed his first piece of silverware in charge of the LaLiga leaders.

    Luis Suarez’s brace and Lionel Messi’s goal put Barca 3-0 up and in complete command of the game.

    Andres Iniesta added a fourth, finishing off a lovely team move, before Phillipe Coutinho converted a penalty.

    Messi and co are also three points away from clinching the LaLiga title.