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Paris Saint-Germain and Argentina forward Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d'Or for a record seventh time, beating Robert Lewandowski and Jorginho to lift football's most prestigious trophy once more. His previous wins came in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2019 - he had already won the trophy more times than any other player.  The 34-year-old was pivotal in Argentina's success - winning the Copa America - his first international honor, scoring 40 goals in 2021 - 28 for Barcelona, four for PSG and eight for Argentina.  Messi said: “It is incredible to be here again. Two years ago I thought that it was my last year and now I am here again. I am very happy, very excited and wanting to fight for new challenges. “I do not know how long I have left but I hope it will be a long time. I want to thank my teammates from Barcelona and PSG, and especially the Argentina team. I won this award and I had the feeling that I was missing something and this year I was able to achieve it.

Lionel Messi may have had a poor start to the season, but he's making records as usual. He is the first player to provide a hat-trick of assists in a single Ligue 1 game this season. He achieved this feat as PSG overturned an early deficit to beat 10-man Saint-Etienne 3-1 away in Ligue 1 on Sunday. Messi provided assists for Marquinhos's two headers and a clinical pass for Angel di Maria's goal. Strangely enough, it is Saint Etienne that opened scoring through Denis Bouanga in the first half. The long-awaited debut of former Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos also came to pass as he finally made a full recovery from injury. Nemar on the other hand, was stretchered off the pitch, sobbing in agony, due to an ankle injury. "Right now there's nothing to say. There's pain. He's going to have tests on Monday to find out a bit more about his injury," said Pochettino. "That's life," Neymar said on Instagram. "I'll be back better and s

Ligue 1 leaders PSG comfortably beat Nantes on Saturday night 3-1, with Messi scoring his first goal in the French top flight at the Parc des Princes. Kylian Mbappe was first to etch his name onto the scoresheet after deflecting Leandro Paredes' shot into the net barely two minutes into the game. Nantes however equalized 20 minutes into the game with a goal from Randal Kolo Muani. Dennis Appiah gave PSG the lead once more by scoring an own goal against Nantes in the 81st minute. PSG keeper Keylor Navas was expulsed with a red card in the 65th minute for a nasty foul on Ludovic Blas, and  Sergio Rico  was brought in as replacement. Messi's goal came in the 87th minute as he took on a pass from Kylian Mbappe on the edge of the box and shot it into the net.  “I’m happy with this first goal, I really wanted it. I had several chances before in this match and in the previous matches,” said Messi. “I am very happy with this first goal in the league, I had already scored in the C

On Sunday, October 10, Argentina faced Uruguay in a 2022 World Cup qualifier. Argentina were victorious, bating Uruguay 3-0. Messi was first to open scoring for Argentina, in the 38th minute with a pass! He literally assisted his own goal. It was his 80th and latest international goal for Argentina, making him the first South American male player to score 80 international goals.  Before half time, Rodrigo de Paul doubled Argentina's lead, with Lautaro Martinez going on to score from close range to make it 3-0 for the hosts. "We played a great game," Messi told reporters, per  Reuters , after the match. "Everything worked out perfectly.” "Uruguay wait for you and they generate danger. Once we got the first goal we started to find space and the goals appeared.” Argentina come second in the South American World Cup qualifying race, with Brazil leading - 28 points from nine wins and a draw in 10 games. Ecuador come third, Uruguay fourth, and Colombia fifth,

Six-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi has ended his mini goal drought at PSG as he scored on Tuesday night in a 2-0 victory over Manchester City in the Champions League group phase. PSG midfielder Idrissa Gueye gave PSG an early lead in the 8th minute, with Raheem Sterling and Bernado Silva coming close to equalizing for PSG as they hit the bar in succession. Messi's sublime goal from the edge of the box however cemented victory for the French.  Football pundit and former Manchester United and England defender Rio Ferdinand reacted on BT Sport as Messi took up a position on the floor behind a defensive wall to prevent Manchester City from surprising PSG keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma with a low shot as City took a late free kick. He said: “No, no, no, no. You can’t. “It’s disrespectful, I wouldn’t have it. “If I was in that team, I’d have to say, ‘Listen, I’ll lay down for you.’ “Sorry, I couldn’t have him laying down like that. I can’t see it. “He don’t get his kit

Lionel Messi has been rated best player in FIFA 22, from rankings published by EA Sports. Messi is rated at 93 in this year's edition, ahead of second-placed Robert Lewandowski who has a 92 rating, and third-placed Cristiano Ronaldo who shares a rating of 91 with Kevin De Bruyne, Kylian Mbappe, Neymar Jr and Jan Oblak. Kevin De Bruyne's is the highest-rated Premier League footballer on the game, as both Harry Kane and N'Golo Kante come in at 90. Here's the complete list of FIFA 22's best players. 1.  Lionel Messi - 93 2.  Robert Lewandowski - 92 3.  Cristiano Ronaldo - 91 4.  Kevin De Bruyne - 91 5.  Kylian Mbappe - 91 6.  Neymar Jr - 91 7.  Jan Oblak - 91 8.  Harry Kane - 90 9.  N'Golo Kante - 90 10.  Manuel Neuer - 90 11.  Marc-Andre ter Stegen - 90 12.  Mohamed Salah - 89 13.  Gianluigi Donnarumma - 89 14.  Karim Benzema - 89 15.  Virgil van Dijk - 89 16.  Joshua Kimmich - 89 17.  Heung Min Son - 89 18.  Alisson - 89 19.