Lionel Messi

We missed this, man. We really did. And now he's back, scoring amazing goals that only Messi (and to an extent only Barcelona) can score.

Barcelona obliterated Roma 6-1 in his first start and second game back, and he tallied two goals and an assist. Luis Suarez also scored twice and Gerard Pique and Adriano also scored.

Messi's first goal since injuring his knee in September came after a build-up of 29 straight passes from Barca, a Champions League record.

Barcelona didn't have to twist the knife. But they did.

Leading Real Madrid 3-0 in the Bernabeu, and making a powerful statement in the first Clasico of the year, the Blaugrana could have easily killed the game off and returned to Catalonia the triumphant victors, the clear favorites in La Liga and the masters of El Clasico.

All the talk  surrounding this weekend's Clasico has centered, as it usually does, around Lionel Messi.

Thie difference this year is the talk has centered around whether Messi will play. Messi sustained a knee injury earlier this season, and has been out since September. The date aimed for as Messi's return has been Saturdays match against Real Madrid.

All eyes will be on Spain as the world’s biggest club football match is played on Saturday. The first El Clasico of the season will be held at the Santiago Bernabeu as Real Madrid hosts Barcelona.  

What makes a rivalry?  Does it have to be fueled by hate, or could a rivalry just be the acts of greatness shown by the two involved, where each pushes the other to reach heights they may have never achieved without that competitive adversary?  In the NBA, Magic Johnson had Larry Bird; in the NFL, Peyton Manning has Tom Brady; tennis has Rafael Nadal vs Roger Federer. Right now in the world of soccer Lionel Messi has Cristiano Ronaldo.

Messi is so good he’s automatic. When he plays you know that no one is going to really be able to stop him; sure he might mess up, but the amount of times he’s going to be tackled, have his pass intercepted or take a bad shot are too few to mention. It’s hard to balance incredibly ability, unpredictability, and consistency in the way Messi has. That balance is what has made Messi the player he is today, and that balance is manifested in Messi’s signature pass. 

Messi is back in training for Barcelona, and to commemorate that event, he's bought himself a new car. Or, at least, we've never seen it before. And, obviously, we have no idea why he bought it. When you have as much money as Messi does, you don't really need to rationalize any of your purchases. You can just make them.

Regardless of his motives in buying it, Messi showed up to training in a sweet blue Audi R8. If you don't think his Audi R8 is cool that's probably because you don't have one and are jealous. 

There is no doubt that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are still the top two soccer players in the world today. However, after scoring another goal that will pass into legend, Neymar has fans everywhere wondering how much longer until he catches up to those two.

Some radicals, like legendary Brazilian left-back Roberto Carlos, already claim that Neymar is the better of the three.