Lionel Messi

FC Barcelona traveled to England and beat Arsenal 2 - 0. Messi scored both goals, the first in the 71st minute and the second on a penalty in the 83rd. While in Turino, Italy, Bayern took a two goal lead from Thomas Mueller and Arjen Robben. Mueller scored the first goal in the 43rd minute and Robben added the 2nd in the 55th. Juventus battled back for the 2 - 2 tie with goals in the 63rd and 76th minute. The first was scored by Paulo Dybala and the tying goal came from Stefano Sturaro. 

Lionel Messi is a bit of an enigma. He has been painted as an anti-social genius, and as the quiet but friendly force that keeps the current Barcelona power trio of MSN in balance. It’s hard to know what to expect from him — is he abrasive or gregarious in his own quiet way? — and apparently this held true when Paul Pogba met Messi. 

Lionel Messi set two more records today. Of course he did. Messi sets records every day, it seems. Today may have even been a down day, records-wise.

First, Messi continued to be the highest scorer in La Liga history, scoring his 300th goal.

.@ZiggoSport: “And here's the video. Number 300 for Lionel Messi in @LaLiga.” pic.twitter.com/ejuklSINAj

We’re ten years into the era when Lionel Messi does things like this, and they just never, ever age.

Poor Celta defender Jonny Gomes was hung out to dry, put in a spin cycle, or any other laundry phrase you’re inclined to turn. That’s also Ray Hudson bwaaaaaaaahh’ing his approval when the reigning La Liga Player of the Month freezes the poor guy, dangles the cheese, and then takes it away.That led to this, the ensuing penalty, where Messi . . . passed?

Trivia question: how many times has Lionel Messi won La Liga Player of the month? A hundred? Fifty?  Seventy five?

Answer: one. And it was last month. 

That's right, after 298 goals, making him La Liga's all-time leading scorer, Messi has finally been named Player of the Month in La Liga. The 28-year-old Argentine has won the FIFA Ballon d'Or four times, La Liga Player of the Year six times and the UEFA Best Player of the Year award twice.

And La Liga Player of the Month once.

The AP reported that Lionel Messi is set to undergo medical tests related to a kidney problem he suffered in December that seems to have recurred. Naturally, we as a soccer website are handling this news with the trademark reserve and calm of the worldwide soccer community. We are not panicking at all.

We don't know if anyone noticed this, but Lionel Messi is pretty good at soccer. He scored a hat trick in Barcelona's 7-0 demolition of Gary Neville's Valencia side Wednesday. 

Oh God Don't Do 'Em Like That Messi

¡GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!
La pulga con un 3-0 de playstation pero nivel leyenda. Barça golea en 30'. #CopadelRey https://t.co/mQV3UtS8ad

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have dominated the game for so long we can barely remember who dominated the game before them. A statistic that really puts this feeling into perspective is this: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo now have 1,000 goals combined in their careers.

Goal number 1,000 came via La Pulga Saturday againt Atletico Madrid.

If you watched the Milan derby this past weekend, you may have seen this olive tree ceremony before the game.

The Milan derby was the latest game to see the ceremony take place. Photo: @waatp | Twitter

Remember this kid? The one with the heart-wrenching Messi jersey made out of a plastic bag? Well, now that your heart has been wrenched, prepare for it to be warmed.

Lots of people have been working to find this kid. After a hiccup or two, it looks like they've found him. And now a meeting with Lionel Messi himself is in the works.

The little boy's name is Murtaza Ahmadi. He's five years old and lived in a small village in Afghanistan.