Lionel Messi

It’s that time of year again: FIFA has announced the 10 finalists for the annual Puskás Award, the trophy given to the player, male or female, “judged to have scored the most aesthetically significant, or ‘most beautiful,’ goal of the calendar year.”

This most certainly wasn’t the case last year when Mohamed Salah scooped the award after Liverpool and Egypt supporters spammed the fan vote. The goal Salah scored against Everton back in December of 2018 hadn’t even won the Premier League’s Goal of the Month, so it was an awful joke to see it given the prestigious Puskás Award.

Lionel Messi has spent most of his preseason with Barcelona recovering from an injury suffered on his first day back in training. The Messi injury, a Grade 1 calf strain, could keep him out of the LaLiga opener on Friday against Athletic Bilbao. 

But the Argentine is working hard to be fit for the match at the San Mamés. 

What’s the difference between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi? It’s the time-honored question that’ll be debated long after both you and I are altered into cosmic dust, although I’ve personally maintained that the difference between the two is the empanadas they’d serve at a social gathering.

The new LaLiga season begins on Friday with defending champion Barcelona heading north to play Athletic Bilbao at the San Mamés. Last year, Barça cantered to the title by an 11-point margin over second-place Atlético while Real Madrid finished 19 points back. However, the La Liga preview 2019/20 sees the challengers refreshed and reloaded with the likes of Eden Hazard and João Félix ready to come at the king.    

The best Champions League goal of the 2018-19 season has been revealed, and there can be few complaints.

Lionel Messi’s otherworldly free kick against Liverpool in the Champions League semifinals was announced as the UCL Goal of the Season by UEFA on Friday. 

...and here it is