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Lionel Messi finished third at The Best FIFA Men's player award this year - at the ceremony which took place earlier this month. This year's ceremony saw Robert Lewandowski winning, and Cristiano Ronaldo emerging second. According to Felix Kroos, brother of Real Madrid midfield veteran Toni Kroos, Messi didn't deserve a spot in the final three. "Lewandowski deserves it, absolutely," the 29-year-old, who plays for German second division outfit Eintracht Braunschweig, told his older brother's Einfach mal Luppen podcast. "But, for me, Messi doesn't belong in the top three, because I don't think he did well this year." He also lamented about the short-term thinking that dominates modern football. “You win the Champions League one, two, three times in a row and four weeks later you lose the first friendly, the first test match, and suddenly s*** smells again," he said.

Earlier this week, Lionel Messi became the all-time top scorer for a single club, breaking the record set by football legend Pele with Santos in his native Brazil (643 goals). To celebrate the new record, brewing giant Budweiser came up with a unique salute to the King of Goals - sending customized beer bottles for each of Messi's goals to the goalkeepers the Barcelona legend has scored against. On their Twitter handle, Budweiser Football posted a promotional video, with the tweet, "In this game, no goal is easy." “Which is why we’ve created a custom bottle for all 644 goals Leo Messi scored. Yes, that’s 644 unique bottles. Sent to all 160 goalkeepers Messi scored against to toast their part in making history,” the tweet read. In another tweet, they said: “644 goals = 644 moments of Messi magic. And yes, we’ve created a custom bottle for every single goal to send to the keepers to toast their part in history. Kings recognize Kings." The bottles are customized...

In a brilliant interview with Sky Sports, Slovenian shot-stopper Jan Oblak who happens to be one of football’s elite goalkeepers labelled Messi the best player in the world. He has been opportuned to face Messi severally as he joined Los Rojiblancos in 2014, in a transfer from Benfica. Since joining, he's been Atletico' premier choice of goalkeeper. "He watches my legs," The Atletico Madrid stopper said. "If I make one step, he will see it and shoot to the other side. This is why he is the best. This is why he is so difficult. He does not show it but he is always looking. He is always watching you. His eyes are on the ball but he sees you. "He sees everything, I think. He has scored many goals against me. Too many! But he is a great player, an amazing player, the best player. "There are many times that he scores a goal and you have this feeling that you cannot understand how he has scored so easily. You are not even close. Sometimes it feels like ...

Messi and team celebrate after his goal After two successive defeats - a 1-2 loss to Cadiz (in La Liga) last weekend, and a humiliating 0-3 defeat to Juventus in the Champions League, Barcelona defeated Levante at Camp Nou - a much needed 1-0 victory. Messi fired home a pass from Frenkie de Jong in the 76th minute - his fifth goal in 11 La Liga appearances this season. Barcelona are now 8th in La Liga.  La Liga leaders Real Sociedad only lead Atletico Madrid now on goal difference. Sociedad are to play Barcelona on Wednesday. Barcelona are nine points behind leaders Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid. Though many suggest that Barcelona will miss out on La Liga trophy for a second consecutive season, Barcelona Coach Ronald Koeman believes Barcelona can still win it. "Of course we can win [the title]," the 57-year-old told reporters. "If we improve and we have more confidence and we improve our effectiveness [in front of goal], there's a chance! "There are st...

On Sunday, Lionel Messi dedicated his goal vs Osasuna to Diego Maradona. After scoring a typically brilliant "Messiesque" goal, Messi took off his shirt to reveal a Newell's Old Boys shirt with a No. 10 on the back in honor of Maradona. The goal he scored closely resembled that which Maradona scored for Newell's Old Boys on October 7, 1993 vs Emelec. Barcelona paid tribute to Maradona before the game kicked off, with a minute of silence and the laying of a Maradona shirt in the center-circle and in the directors' box. The first goal of the game was scored by Martin Braithwaithe, then Griezmann scored a superb volley and set up Philippe Coutinho for Barcelona's third. Messi then scored the last in style to seal a 4-0 victory for Barcelona over Osasuna - a much needed 3 points to boost their La Liga ranking.  

The world has just lost one of the greatest soccer players of all time. Soccer legend Diego Maradona died of a heart attack at the age of 60, today, November 25, 2020. He died at home, in Argentina. Argentina President Fernandez has called for three days of national mourning. In response to news of his death, Europe's soccer governing body - UEFA - has announced there will be a minute of silence for Maradona before its Champions League and Europa league games this week.  "He will go down in history as someone who set football alight and thrilled fans young and old with his brilliance and skill," UEFA President Čeferin said in a statement. Earlier this month, Maradona underwent successful surgery for a subdural hematoma (blood clot on the brain). Tributes have been flowing in from past and present soccer stars like Pele, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and others. In a tweet, Pele said, I have lost a great friend and the world lost a legend. There is still much to be ...