Lionel Messi,with the goal against Deportivo Alaves,hasbecome the leading goalscorer in La Liga for the 2019–2020 season and has secured the seventh Pichichi award. Last year, he has equalled the number of Pichichi titles with Athletic Bilbao star Telmo Zarrawith six awards. With the seventh one added to the list,Messi is creating his own records that will be broken in the future.
Lionel Messi is very much disappointed after their defeat against Villarreal which led them the title to slip away. Messi has said that if they are continuing to play like this they will be losing the Champions League match against Napoli. On Friday,Barca endured their sixth defeat in the league while Real captured their first title since 2017.
Former Premier League star Darren Bent believes Paul Pogba will be eager to prove himself when he returns to action later this month. The France international has missed most of the current campaign for Manchester United with a nagging ankle injury and he underwent an operation for the same at the beginning of the year.
Former Leeds United star Noel Whelan has said that Philippe Coutinho remains a fantastic player and he has the chance to redeem himself by returning to the Premier League next term. The Brazil international has struggled for consistent form since leaving Liverpool for Barcelona two years ago and he is currently out on loan at Bayern Munich.
The playmaker has bagged an impressive tally of nine goals and eight assists from 32 outings for the German champions but his contributions have come in clusters rather than spread out over the course of the season. Coutinho is expected to return to the Camp Nou this summer with Bayern having already decided against his permanent signature and he has been touted to return to the Premier League next season.
Former Barcelona president Joan Laporta is interested in bringing back Pep Guardiola to the club. Laporta has said that he is most likely to run in the presidential election of next year. He is excited about running for elections and is aware that things will dramatic in 2021 but he has people whom he trusts. He was the president of Barca from 2003–2010 when Guardiola led the club to many victories and to win many silverwares.
Barcelona legend Rivaldo believes his former club should sanction the sale of Ousmane Dembele, who has struggled with regular injury concerns. The France international joined the Blaugrana from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2017 and he has since been restricted to only 74 appearances across all competitions.
Everton star Richarlison has indicated that there has been no concrete interest from Barcelona despite the speculation in the media. The Brazil international has been a regular in the Toffees attack since his move from Watford in 2018 and he has already contributed 26 goals in all competitions for the club.
Inter Milan chief Beppe Marotta has dismissed the ongoing speculation linking Lautaro Martinez with a possible move to Barcelona. The Argentine has made a vast improvement from his debut season at the Nerazzurri and he has already amassed 16 goals from 28 appearances across all competitions this term.
His form has caught the attention of some of Europe’s elite and of late, he has been linked with a summer move to Barcelona, who are eyeing a competitor for Luis Suarez, who has recently suffered multiple knee injuries. In response to the rumours, Marotta has clarified that the Argentina international is only interested in playing for the Nerazzurri and won’t part ways with the club unless he puts a transfer request on the table, he told Sky Italia: “Rumours regarding Lautaro? He is very young and improving. He is only interested in wearing the glorious shirt of Inter. This club has nothing to envy others. Players can leave only if they ask to leave.”
Chelsea attacker Pedro has said that he would welcome the prospect of returning to Barcelona in the future. The 31-year-old has been with the Blues for the past four-and-a-half-seasons but his role has diminished during the current campaign where Frank Lampard has preferred the likes of Willian, Christian Pulisic and Callum Hudson-Odoi ahead of him in the pecking order.
Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde claimed that he has run out of words when it comes to describing Lionel Messi’s brilliance. The Argentine superstar was influential for Barcelona in the recent 5-1 victory over Real Valladolid. Messi was able to score twice in the game – including a free kick that provided has 50th goal from such a scenario. There were also assists for Luis Suarez and Arturo Vidal. This victory helped Barcelona to return to the top of the standings. After a difficult start of the campaign, the Catalan outfit have picked up seven consecutive wins.
