Lionel Messi

The Copa America Centenario has been nothing short of a roller coaster ride. During the group stage, we have seen the fall of two national teams who were considered top challengers for the title, and we've witnessed the rise of a pair that many people wouldn’t have put their money on to win it all before the tournament started.

Tops:

Argentina

Arguably the only team to live up to its pre-tournament expectations, Argentina seems to be on track to finally win a major title.

Reddit user bloomytue has too much time on his hands. I’m not trying to judge, it’s just a fact. Bloomytue has aggregated every sing goal that Lionel Messi has ever scored. 

The database is impressive, to say the least, and is housed on the pinterest-esque website Wakelet. 

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.

A common debate in American sports concerns what four athletes in a specific sport deserve to be on the "Mt. Rushmore" of that sport.

Take baseball for example. If you were to look across its history which four players, former or current, should be placed above the rest as the four to remember?

What is often never truly explained in this debate is what "Mt. Rushmore" represents or what the bases of being placed on it are.

Lionel Messi will not play in Argentina's Copa America Centenario opener against Chile, according to a report from AS. Messi sustained a back injury during Argentina's warmup game against Honduras, and it appears that the Chile match comes too soon for the Barcelona star. 

Lionel Messi has been under investigation for tax fraud for so long that it was behinning to feel like nothing was ever going to come of it. But now, with Messi standing trial for four days, and details from that trial being released, it seems like there is a chance some s*** will hit the fan, only a slight chance but a chance none the less.

Prosecutors representing the Spanish government accuse Messi and his father of dodging €4.1 million in taxes from 2007 to 2009 via shell companies in the UK and Switzerland and tax havens in Belize and Uruguay. 

The Copa America Centenario is approaching fast, and for Lionel Messi and Argentina, the tournament is a chance at redemption. Having lost in the final of the World Cup in 2014 and the final of the Copa America last year, criticism is starting to grow due to Messi's underachievement. 

If the 2013-14 Champions League final between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid is anything to go by, the rematch between the two teams this Saturday should be a spectacular affair. It's not just the meetings between these two Spanish rivals that have set pulses racing, the European Cup competition that was founded in 1955 has served up its fair share of spectacular finals.