Barcelona

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.

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.

Lionel Messi, Steph Curry and Tom Brady were the main catalysts behind their teams' respective 2015 triumphs. Messi led Barcelona to a historic treble, Curry helped Golden State capture the NBA championship and Brady quarterbacked the New England Patriots to victory in Super Bowl XLIX. 

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. 

Ronaldo Lima played for Barcelona for one season, in 1996-97, but he knows a gifted striker when he sees one. The leading light of Brazil's most recent World Cup triumph (2002) has tapped his countryman, Neymar Jr, as the heir to Lionel Messi's throne at Barcelona.

Ronaldo told a the Brazilian media he thinks Neymar has what it takes to become Barcelona's talisman when the time comes for Messi to hang it up.