Lionel Messi Topples Cristiano Ronaldo in Brazil

 Barcelona, La Liga, Lionel Messi, Real Madrid  1 Response »
Oct 292015
 

messi vs ronaldoIn a recent poll carried out in Brazil where 25 top coaches where asked ho they would prefer to sign if given the chance between the two players, Lionel Messi got an amazing 20 out of 25 votes. the four time Ballon D’Or winner who is most likely to lift a fifth one in his career if he wins the next one was the favorite to also win the best player award if only Brazilian coaches had to vote. The remaining five coaches picked Ronaldo over Lionel Messi, according to them they prefer him because he was more goal oriented than his rival.

Lionel Messi has been on the sidelines since for the past three weeks due to an injury he sustained and is poised to return on time for his team’s clash against Real Madrid in November. Himself and his father are also facing tax charges by the Spanish football federation for tax evasion, although it seems that he is off the hook but his father is not. while all these has been happening with the Argentine ace, his rival Cristiano Ronaldo was recently awarded the European golden boot award for his goal scoring exploits in the last season. He also went on to become Real Madrid’s all time highest goal scorer toppling Raul’s 323 goals for the club and doing so with even fewer matches.

Yet another accolade for ronaldo

 Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid  No Responses »
Oct 132015
 
Ronaldo receives fourth European boot

Ronaldo receives fourth European boot

Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo added yet another individual accolade this gallery after receiving the award for topping the goal charts in Europe last term. Ronaldo finished ahead of two argentine strikers, Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero. On winning this accolade the Portuguese player became the first player to win the award four times and he is already looking forward to winning a fifth. Cristiano Ronaldo topped his competitors after scoring 48 times last term. The striker said he wasn’t yet satisfied and wanted more from the game.

Already scoring this season, Cristiano Ronaldo only recently topped Madrid legend Raul to become the club’s all time top scorer but he faces tough competition from Bayern Munich hit man Roberto Lewandowski. The Bayern striker just can’t seem to stop banging in the goals which has seen him score 10 goals in 3 games for the club. Other players already in the race for this terms golden boot include Lionel Messi, Aguero and Aubameyang.

After receiving the award Ronaldo went on to thank his team mates and coach who he stated helped him achieve this feat. He was accompanied to the ceremony which held at the Westin Palace hotel in Madrid by his mother, his son, his coach and club president Florentino Perez. The club president went on to state that the club was grateful to have such an exceptional player who would not stop pushing for greater heights. Although 30, Ronaldo doesn’t seem to be slowing down as he is looking to achieve more.

Messi Might Bag Jail Term Over Tax Fraud

 Barcelona, Lionel Messi  No Responses »
Oct 102015
 

Lionel Messi started out this football season in his characteristically good note. All these changed when he incurred a two months injury in the match against Las Palmas. After this event, it appears that there is another hurdle that this star has to cross. There is a likelihood that Lionel Messi would bag a jail term extending for about two years.

The possible term is due to allegations of tax fraud against Messi and his father, Jorge.The pair were accused of defrauding the Spanish Tax Authorities of a sum of about €4 million. The tax fraud is related to money not remitted in relation to Messi’s image rights between the year 2007 and 2009.

Although there was a request by prosecutors for Messi’s charge to be dropped, this was overruled by the court. Thus, Messi and his father are going to be charged on three count charges of tax fraud. Messi and his father have come out to deny any wrongdoings on their part.

Messi’s father is alleged to have transferred the money in question to fake companies located in different countries. The companies mentioned are said to be in Belize, Uruguay, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Messi and his father have also paid a sum as repatriation for the alleged tax fraud. Since the tax fraud case was started in 2013, the duo have paid a sum totalling about €5 million. This covers the money owed and the interest.

In all, although Messi going out on a 2 months long injury is bad enough, it would be unfathomable if he ends up in jail.

Barcelona star Lionel Messi vows to come back stronger

 Barcelona  No Responses »
Oct 082015
 

Barcelona start Lionel Messi has vowed to be comeback stronger following an injury that has seen him sidelined for three weeks now. His team has never been the same without him. Winning some matches narrowly, while also losing to Sevilla during the weekend. Lionel Messi posted a photo of him undergoing treatment on social media with a caption that said he would be back and better soon. He was seating while a compressor used by athletes recovering from injury was attached to his legs. Messi is supposed to be sidelined according to reports but Argentine team doctor mentioned before that he feels the player would be back sooner than later as he loves playing football.

In other news, the four times Ballon D’or winner is facing charges for tax evasion. He and his father have been accused of defrauding the Spanish federation of amounts in the tune of five million dollars. The prosecutors of the 28 year old Barcelona striker recently submitted a request to drop charges against the striker but such was rejected by the judge ruling over the case. A 22 month jail term is what has been demanded by the lawyers representing tax authorities of the Spanish federation.

Messi’s Shoes, Too Big for Neymar to Fill.

 Barcelona, Champions league  No Responses »
Sep 292015
 

FC Barcelona lost their star player Lionel Messi to a knee ligament in their weekend match against Las Palmas. It was supposed to be a knock he could shake off after minor treatment on the sidelines but it proved to be stronger than that and he was substituted few minutes later. It was later confirmed after the match that he had torn his knee ligament and would be on the sidelines for two months to recover. Barcelona fans immediately tipped Brazilian star Neymar Jr. to lead the team in Messi’s absence but it seems like that task is too heavy for the Brazilian forward as was seen by his poor performance tonight. Bayern Leverkusen took the lead in the 22nd minute when Kryiakos Papadopoulos jumped between Mathieu and Ter Stegen to head home a cross. After then, Barcelona needed a goal to go level and the best Neymar could come up with was a dive in the opposition’s eighteen yard box for which he was booked before his other attempt came off the post.

The first half ended with Barcelona trailing behind, they couldn’t afford to lose this one after drawing their first against AS Roma. The second half continued and the chances kept on coming but they couldn’t convert. Neymar was far from his best all night and it took the introduction of Sergi Roberto for Barcelona to level scores with just 10 minutes to go. Luis Suarez was again the hero as he got the winner for the home team just like he did during the weekend. With Messi out for other six or seven games, it is good to know that there is someone besides Neymar who can step up to the plate when the team needs him.

Barcelona loses Lionel Messi to knee injury

 Barcelona, La Liga  No Responses »
Sep 282015
 

Barcelona star Lionel Messi is set to be on the sidelines for at least 8 weeks after tearing his knee ligament in their 2-1 win over Las Palmas on Saturday. The treble winners still managed to win the game despite losing their star man just minutes into the first half. Lionel Messi tore his ligament after colliding in an awkward way with an opponent as he tried to shot from the edge of the area. The four time ballon d’or winner was left on the ground wriggling in pain after the tackle as the team medics came to his rescue. He received treatments on the sidelines and returned to action but he couldn’t deal with the pain and was substituted shortly.

At the end of the match, the team confirmed the news of Messi’s injury which would require about two months off the pitch to heal. Barcelona would now have to rely on the likes of Neymar and Luis Suarez to keep the team on top until Messi’s return. Situations like this was one the reasons why Barcelona bought Brazilian striker Neymar and he would have to step forward and fill in the void left by Messi. Eight weeks out means Messi would miss Barcelona’s league games against Sevilla, Rayo Vallecano, Eibar, Getafe and Villareal. After these matches comes the international break which would give the player more time to relax. But just after the international break is their league match against Real Madrid. If there are no complications with his recovery, the Argentine player would be back in time to face their rivals but Barcelona would prefer to have him play at least one match before that game or he could just sit that one out as well.

Barcelona suffer shock defeat at Estadio de Balaídos

 Barcelona  No Responses »
Sep 242015
 

Two goals from Iago Aspas and one each from Nolito and Guidetti sealed the win for Celta Vigo on Wednesday night. Nolito opened the scoring in the 26th minute of the game, he later went on to set up two goals for Liverpool reject Iago Aspas. Although , Neymar was able to pull one back for Barcelona from a tight spot but Celta Vigo wasn’t going to tolerate any comebacks from them and they passed the message across by scoring one more to make it 4-1, this time Guidetti was the goal scorer. It is true that Celta started the game in a good form but the first real threat came from Messi when he a released a shot and forced a brilliant save from Sergio Alvarez.

Lionel Messi had a good chance to get a goal for his team early in the second half only for his effort to hit the wood work. Following the victory Celta have now taken 13 points from five La Liga games and are now top of the table on equal points with Real Madrid. This loss happens to be the first for Barcelona this season, their worse result before this was in the midweek when Alessandro Florenzi scored a stunning goal to restore parity between the two sides. Barcelona would be hoping to get back to scoring ways when they meet Las Palmas this weekend but this lose would make one question the effectiveness of their front three that was dubbed as the best in Europe last season.

Messi misses spot kick as Barcelona cruise to easy victory

 Barcelona, La Liga, Levante  No Responses »
Sep 212015
 

Goals from Lionel Messi, Neymar and Marc Bartra helped Barcelona cruise to a 4-1 win over Levante to maintain their perfect start to the season. The Catalans saw a lot of chances in the first half wasted due to sloppy finishes, but they later made up for their misfiring in the second half as they produced four goals to wrap up the game. Though Victor Casadesus did reduce the deficit but the Levante team never really posed a threat for the rest of the game. Lionel Messi fired a penalty over the cross bar in the 75th minute of the game having scored the previous one he was given. The victory see Barcelona return to the top of the La Liga table with 12 points from four matches.

Barcelona did start the game on a high note as a combination of passes between Messi and Neymar in the 6th minute gave them a chance at goal but young Munir’s effort ended up hitting the side netting. In the following minutes, Messi had his chance only for his shot to be blocked by the defender and the follow up to that ended up in the keeper’s arms. Barcelona continued to push for that opener as Neymar, Sandro and Munir squandered opportunities to put the team ahead. On the other side, Levante should have gotten the lead but Nabil Ghilas couldn’t control his shot from close range after passing Mascherano. The first half ended goal-less but it didn’t take long before Barcelona broke the deadlock 5 minutes into second half with Bartra tapping home from close range following a cross from Lionel Messi.  From here, the goals started flowing in for Barcelona but the host also got one for themselves.

Alessandro Florenzi steals the show on Messi’s night

 Barcelona, Champions league, Roma  No Responses »
Sep 172015
 

It was poised to be a memorable night for Messi as he clocked 100 games in the prestigious UEFA Champions League. Everybody expected him to mark the night with a goal or at the very least an assist but none of that happened. Instead it was Alessandro Florenzi who was in the spotlight with an incredible lob to rob Barcelona of their lead as he advanced down the right flank before lifting the ball over Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s head. The ball looked like it was going out till it hit the bar and went in. This was to be a night he would never forget as not even Lionel Messi could match this feat.

Barcelona had earlier taken the lead through a wonderfully timed header from Luis Suarez as he perfected his run onto a cross from team mate Ivan Rakitic. Barca dominated for most of the game and looked to build on their advantage and add more goals but young Florenzi had other plans. He carried the ball from the right back position, crossed the half line and unleashed an unexpected shot that Ter Stegen didn’t see coming. Although many were quick to blame the keeper but it wasn’t his fault as nobody expected the Italian international to shoot from that distance. That strike turned out to be one of the greatest goals the Champions League has ever seen.

Luis Enrique came back to the ground he called home back in 2011-2012 and was even given an ovation by the home fans but a victory was not the result on his return instead he lost one of his players to a serious injury in the second half. Messi had some moments in the game too but it wasn’t enough to seal all three points for Barcelona as what was supposed to be his night ended up being Florenzi’s night.