Barcelona

On Sunday, spectators were given an unconstrained glimpse into the mind of Lionel Messi, a footballer whose cryptic statements and enigmatic private life only add to his magical legend.  

Messi’s a consummate professional, dedicated to the game on an otherworldly level. Argentina’s crushing defeat to Chile in the 2016 Copa America Centenario final gave proof to his wholehearted devotion to the cause.

Every time Lionel Messi’s teammates step out onto the pitch, they must be thankful that the Argentine wizard is wearing the Blaugrana shirt. In this video from the official FC Barcelona YouTube page, Messi can be seen humiliating some of Barcelona’s biggest stars during training.

37-year-old Eidur Gudjohnsen will be making his international swan song for Iceland at Euro 2016. The attacking player from Reykjavik is certainly the most famous footballer to have come from Iceland. He scored 54 goals over six illustrious seasons with Chelsea. He spent three seasons with Barcelona, capturing a La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League treble in 2008-09.

Diego Maradona’s verbal influence has only increased since the heights of his playing days — the cult of his personality dictating that many give credence to his ill-thought-out claims. On Thursday, Maradona should’ve put his foot in his mouth once again when discussing the leadership qualities of his Argentine compatriot, Lionel Messi.

UPDATE: Alves' transfer to Juventus is official:

UFFICIALE - @DaniAlvesD2 è bianconero! https://t.co/U82CsKAyIY #BemVindoDani pic.twitter.com/1Uxq8fjdnz

— JuventusFC (@juventusfc) June 27, 2016

Barcelona did not win the Champions League this season. Barcelona should have won the Champions League this season. 

No disrespect to Atletico Madrid, who deservedly bounced Barca in the quarterfinals, but the Blaugrana's attack was led by three of the five best forwards in the world, and every player in their squad (excluding goalkeeper) is either top five in the word at his position or at least in the conversation.

Do you remember the first time soccer blew your mind? For me, it was Ronaldinho. Not even a specific clip, just Ronaldinho in general. The more and more I watched of him the more I realized that my understanding of soccer was so timidly different than what was really possible that it practically hurt; I needed to watch more highlights, and I swear I got high from them. 

I thought the days of Ronaldinho blowing my mind were done, but this one goal, this legendary goal that many of you have already seen before, has come back to do it again:

Javier Mascherano is reportedly in talks with Juventus regarding a potential summer transfer from Barcelona.

When former Marine Jake Sully first entered his Na’vi-human hybrid in the 2009 sci-fi film Avatar, he couldn’t control his excitement — he delighted in his newfound athleticism while embracing the pastoral beauty of the planet Pandora. It was a scientific breakthrough, the likes of which hadn't been replicated up until yesterday. Yesterday, Neymar had his own Jake Sully moment.