Barcelona

It is incredibly hard for an individual player to have an affect on a soccer match. The game is comprised of 22 players that at any one time could be making more of an impact than any one player. There could be a defensive battle on the left side of the field that renders the right winger a spectator. The left-back in a defense could be such a defensive liability that the opposing attack choses to go nowhere else but through him, leaving the corresponding right back to do little more than mark space in solitude.

While Wayne Rooney was not exactly having the game of his life in Swansea, his family was in Barcelona on holiday. Rooney's son Kai got to take a break from the usual crew at Manchester United and hang out with a different collection of footballers than normal, the likes of Neymar, Messi, Suarez and Gerard Pique.

You can't do it all alone, even if you're the best player in the world. This was the message Lionel Messi gave when interviewed after winning the UEFA Player of the Year award (again).

"What we all achieved is all thanks to this great team," Messi said. "When you manage to achieve all your objectives with the group, then your personal objectives can also be achieved."

Messi cements his reputation as a humble superstar here, knowing that even he can't win every game by himself (although in truth he could probably get close).

Stay classy, Messi.

Good God almighty, the unthinkable has happened in Ireland. Limerick FC have pulled off perhaps the greatest transfer coup in the history of soccer, signing electric Brazilian forward Neymar away from heavyweight Barcelona. 

How could this have happened? We haven't been able to pin down any details on the transfer, but it was reported earlier this week that Manchester United might bif 240 million pounds for Neymar, so that's the range we're talking here. 

Lionel Messi is good at soccer. UEFA has acknowledged Messi's goodness at soccer by giving him the UEFA Player of the Year award for the 2014-2015 season.

Presumably you already know who Messi is and why he won this prestigious award, but just in case you forgot or want to watch some cool goals, here's every goal from Messi this season.

Messi beat out fellow nominees Luis Suarez and Cristiano Ronaldo.

No one is safe from the inflated prices of major sporting events these days, not even babies. Roso Castellsagues found this out first hand as she was charged €54 for her ten-month-old child to gain admission to the second leg of the Spanish Supercopa.  

It’s time to face facts: the two best players in the world, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, are getting older.

Entering the 2015/2016 La Liga Season, which kicked off this weekend, Cristiano Ronaldo is 30. He will be 31 by February. The baby-faced flea, Messi, is now 28.

Both men have grown up, from young guns to team captains and leaders.

Now, just what does the future hold for the two best players alive?

Just off the western coast of Morocco lies a volcanic archipelago known as the Canary Islands. Despite its size, the Spanish-controlled territory has developed a locally based premier division called the Preferente which combines with the fifth division of Spanish football. Local Canary Island club Raqui San Isidro are becoming more popular by the day in the Preferente since Pedro’s transfer from Barcelona to Chelsea. 

Chelsea made the long-rumored move official on Wednesday when it made its first major addition of the summer by swooping in to sign winger Pedro for £21M from Barcelona. While the player must still pass his medical, the deal looks like it is officially done.