The last day of Champions League Round of 16 featured four world-renowned teams. Arsenal traveled to FC Barcelona hoping to make up a 2-0 aggregate deficit, while Bayern Munich and Juventus were tied at two.
Barcelona is apparently extending its search for the next Messi deep into the United States, according to a statement made by the club.
The club is has reached agreements to open several FCBEscolas across Japan and the United states, in cities like Orlando and Chicago.
We wouldn't blame you for thinking that Lionel Messi has broken every record worth breaking at Barcelona. He has smashed a lot of them. Most goals for Barcelona in La Liga, most goals for Barcelona in the Champions League, most goals in a calendar year and so on and so forth.
Lionel Messi became the first player to score 20+ goals in 8 successive La Liga seasons today.
Another record pic.twitter.com/FaTE6D07Vc
The passing of the guard is a rare thing to appreciate as it happens. Sure, people love to say, “we are watching a passing of the guard,” but even if they are correct, it still takes months, sometimes years to complete. What we see from a 19-year-old Messi in this next video is a performance that happened in the middle of such a passing: the transition of Barcelona from Ronaldinho’s team to Messi’s team. In it we watch Messi score a hat-trick against Real Madrid at the age of 19, a performance that showed the world that the hype was real.
The grandest football stadium in all of Europe is about to get a little bigger. Barcelona have released their ambitious plans to remodel and increase the capacity of their Camp Nou stadium by the start of the 2021/22 season.
The renovations will see the overall capacity of the footballing cathedral increase from 99,354 to 105,000. The atmosphere and noise generated by 105,000 supporters will also be cranked up a notch with the addition of a roof which will cover the seats around the entirety of the stadium, ensuring that the noise within cannot get out.
Barcelona is once again dominating the European football landscape to replicate the success experienced under former boss Pep Guardiola. The Spanish giants are enjoying a long unbeaten run across La Liga, the UEFA Champions League and the Copa del Rey, but there is a different method to their madness.
Every Barcelona goal is beautiful. The team effort and crisp passing allowed for the La Liga leading giants to easily defeat Rayo Vallecano. Of the 5 goals scored, Lionel Messi's hat trick proved to the highlight in a lop sided match. Rayo Vallecano finished the game with 9 men as Diego Llorente and Manuel Iturra were given straight red cards in the 42nd and 67th minute, respectively. Messi's hat trick in the run of play was a tribute to Barcelona's possession dominance and his intelligence to be in the right place at the right time.
The amazing chemistry of Messi, Suarez and Neymar comes from the inside. That was the candid assertion of Barcelona forward Luis Suarez as he explained why he and his partners in attack are so successful.
"We prioritize the group objective. None of us compete with the others, but each enjoy the moment. I feel content, happy, and I'm helping the team, which is key.”
With Pep Guardiola coming to Manchester City, so too must come the media storm of transfer rumours. It feels like pretty much every player who has ever been somewhat associated with Guardiola has been linked with a move to the Sky Blues in the past month and Gerard Pique is no exception. However, the veteran Barca defender had some surprising words to say in that regard.
"My love for Manchester United is too great for me to sign for City," said Pique. "Even though Pep is a great coach."
Lionel Messi can score incredible goals in so many ways it's almost unfair. You forget how many tools he has until he brings them out.
For example, we don't typically think of Messi as a free kick specialist, and then he goes and scores an absurd bender like the one he had against Sevilla Sunday.