Tag: Messi

Ernesto Valverde heaps praise on ‘genius’ Lionel Messi

Posted on by index

Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde has branded Lionel Messi as a ‘genius’ after the Argentine starred during the club’s 3-0 win over Alaves in the season opener. Messi had a rather frustrating World Cup with Argentina over the summer but he managed to shed the disappointment with a brace to kick-start the league campaign.

Speaking after the game, Valverde was full of praise for the attacker, who scored Barcelona’s 6000th La Liga goal with a lovely free-kick which was intentionally placed underneath the opposition wall, he said: “Messi is a genius. We’re lucky to be able to see him every day. We’re lucky to be involved in football during the era in which he is playing — we want him to pull a rabbit from the hat every day. There’s still room for Messi to surprise us. He always surprises you — he never ceases to amaze me, honestly. You have to be ready to expect anything from Messi because he sees what no one else sees.”
Continue reading →

Could Barcelona Realistically Lose Star Man Lionel Messi?

Posted on by admin

Lionel Messi has long been regarded as the best footballer on the planet, since bursting on to the scene for Barcelona’s first team back in 2004. It was former Catalans coach Frank Rijkaard that handed the Argentine his senior debut at the Nou Camp and kicked off what would become a truly illustrious career at the pinnacle of the sport.

Messi quickly established himself as a future star within the Barca ranks and shot to stardom with his incredible dribbling skills, a silky left foot and his dynamic ability going forward. Since becoming the club’s then-record youngest goalscorer in history, Messi has rallied to huge success on Spanish soil. Continue reading →

Barcelona Will Benefit from Andres Iniesta’s Return, Says Luis Enrique

Posted on by index

Luis Enrique says that he is betting big on the return of Andres Iniesta boasting the Barcelona team immensely ahead of the El Clasico of the season with Real Madrid.

After having been involved in two consecutive draws, there is immense pressure on Barcelona to win this match. Since the game is at the Camp Nou, the Barcelona players will also be feeling confident ahead of the tie. Numerous injuries and poor form have curtailed Barcelona’s defence of the league title. The club are in danger of falling nine points behind leaders Madrid if they lose the game.

The club has certainly struggled without the creative presence of Iniesta in the centre of the park. There has also been a major shift in terms of tactics compared with last season, as Barcelona are more focused on getting the ball to the forwards – Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Luis Suarez – as soon as possible. Continue reading →

Barcelona agreed to pay Neymar’s tax evasion charges

Posted on by index

Ever since Neymar joined Barcelona on May of 2013, there have been investigations going on involving his transfer from Santos to Barcelona as the transfer fee was initially disclosed and later on it was discovered that fee which was made to the public was not the actual amount of money that Barcelona had spent in signing the Brazilian superstar.

These transfer investigations led to Rosell resigning from his position as the president of Barcelona and the Spanish club was charged with tax evasion fraud as well as other things which emerged.

It’s been over 3 years since that transfer was completed and move investigations have been taking place involving Neymar’s move to Barcelona as there was a portion of the money which actually went to the wrong parties but nonetheless it has recently been revealed that all of these issues have finally been resolved.

It was recently announced that Barcelona had agreed to pay  €9.3 million in back taxes and the Spanish club will also pay a fine of €5.5 million to Spanish authorities due to everything that emerged in relation to Neymar’s transfer to Barcelona.

At the age of 24, Neymar is already being viewed as the next true leader of Barcelona, someone who might be able to follow the footsteps of Messi and accomplish everything that the Argentine superstar has done with Barcelona. Continue reading →

MESSI STILL THE GREATEST

Posted on by admin

Lionel Messi might not have won the Ballon d’Or award, but, Gerardo Martino, the Barcelona boss, still considers him the greatest footballer going around at the minute.

The Ballon d’Or award for 2013 was won by Cristiano Ronaldo a couple of days ago and rightly so because he performed much better than Messi last year.

According to Martino, Ronaldo might have been a better performer than Messi in the last 1 year or so, but, if looked overall, Messi is still ahead of the Portuguese.

Speaking in one of his interviews yesterday, the Blaugrana boss said, “First of all, I would like to congratulate Ronaldo for getting the award. He deserved that because he had played well last year. But, as far as the best is concerned, it’s still Lionel for me. Yes, he has had tough times of late, but, there is no one better than him.”

Martino also made it clear that the Spanish centre-back Marc Bartra would be given a contract extension pretty soon.

Martino said, “Marc’s contract is to be extended and I am glad about that. He has developed a great deal in the last few months and he is definitely a star in the making.”

Bartra is a product of Barcelona academy. He had joined the club as 12 years old boy and has been a part of the Barcelona B team as well. For the senior team of Barcelona, he has so far played 23 La Liga matches and has scored 2 goals.

Barcelona’s next match is the Copa Del Rey pre quarter final against Getafe CF. That will be the return leg and Barca will go into it with a lot of confidence because they are already ahead by 4 goals on aggregate.

BUSQUETS: WIN THE GOALS AWARD

Posted on by admin

Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets has said that the club should be doing everything possible in the hands to help Lionel Messi win the Pichichi award, which is given to the top scorer in Spain, this season. Barcelona will now not win the la Liga title nor the Champions League. Barcelona currently trail leaders Real Madrid by seven points in the la Liga, while they were knocked out of the Champions League by Chelsea. However, they are still having the capability to win the Copa del Ray title this season, while Lionel Messi can also win the personal accolade of having the Pichichi award.

Sergio Busquets has said that all the Barcelona players should be focusing on helping Lionel Messi win this title. Sergio Busquets said this statement after the 7-0 thrashing of Rayo Vallecano in Madrid. The huge score also helped Lionel Messi, as the Argentine not only helped himself to 2 goals, but also created four others as well. This has removed any doubts people have had in the player, who missed a penalty that ultimately proved costly for Barcelona in the match against Chelsea. Barcelona will next be taking on Malaga at home on Wednesday.

“The most important thing is the team, but we have to do everything we can so that Leo finishes the season as top goalscorer. He’s broken all the records; he’s the best in the world,” Sergio Busquets said after the match against Rayo Vallecano. There was a real possibility that Real Madrid could have won the title this weekend itself had Barcelona lost against Rayo Vallecano. However, the huge 7-0 win meant that they were able to capitalise on the freedom of having to play without any pressure. Guardiola recently revealed that he will step down as the Barcelona manager following the end of this season.