Despite his status as one of the most celebrated young players in the world, Chelsea's Eden Hazard still fights his own mental demons.
In a recent interview with Sport / Foot Magazine, Hazard opened up about what he sees as the difference between him and modern day legends of the game like Messi and Ronaldo:
While Wayne Rooney was not exactly having the game of his life in Swansea, his family was in Barcelona on holiday. Rooney's son Kai got to take a break from the usual crew at Manchester United and hang out with a different collection of footballers than normal, the likes of Neymar, Messi, Suarez and Gerard Pique.
Jose "Joey Bats" Bautista is a big deal to Major League Baseball fans, but Lionel Messi is a big deal to Jose Bautista.
At a recent Toronto Blue Jays practice, Bautista swapped his Blue Jays jersey for a fan's Messi Barcelona jersey, then practiced with the Messi jersey on.
You can't do it all alone, even if you're the best player in the world. This was the message Lionel Messi gave when interviewed after winning the UEFA Player of the Year award (again).
"What we all achieved is all thanks to this great team," Messi said. "When you manage to achieve all your objectives with the group, then your personal objectives can also be achieved."
Messi cements his reputation as a humble superstar here, knowing that even he can't win every game by himself (although in truth he could probably get close).
Stay classy, Messi.
Lionel Messi is good at soccer. UEFA has acknowledged Messi's goodness at soccer by giving him the UEFA Player of the Year award for the 2014-2015 season.
Presumably you already know who Messi is and why he won this prestigious award, but just in case you forgot or want to watch some cool goals, here's every goal from Messi this season.
Messi beat out fellow nominees Luis Suarez and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Spanish League has just begun, and once again the favorites are Lionel Messi and Barcelona. However, Messi isn’t the only professional soccer player in his family. Messi’s cousins have made headlines during the last 30 days in Brazil.
Maximiliano Biancucchi Cuccitini plays as striker for Bahía and turns 31 in September, while his brother Emanuel, who is 27 years old, plays midfielder for Vasco da Gama. Both are sons of Messi’s mother’s sister.
It’s time to face facts: the two best players in the world, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, are getting older.
Entering the 2015/2016 La Liga Season, which kicked off this weekend, Cristiano Ronaldo is 30. He will be 31 by February. The baby-faced flea, Messi, is now 28.
Both men have grown up, from young guns to team captains and leaders.
Now, just what does the future hold for the two best players alive?
Adidas just made a really cool commercial with Messi, but the commercial's intended message will shock you.
Don't worship Messi, make your own path. That's what Adidas wants. Adidas is sick and tired of people worshipping the athletes it pays untold millions of dollars for in exchange for those athletes endorsing Adidas's products, and Adidas can't take it anymore.
Just watch:
Give PSG owner Nasser Al-Khelaïfi this: he's nothing if not ambitious.
French Newspaper Le Parisien reported that PSG will use its newfound oil money to try to sign Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the two best players in the world.
Never mind the exhorbitant release clauses. Never mind previous rejections. They are going to try again! And we applaud them for it.
Al-Khelaifi is the proud owner of quite a lot of money, and if there's anyone with the testicular fortitude to make a serious run at both Messi and Ronaldo, it's the Qatari oil baron.
Barcelona won the UEFA Super Cup Tuesday and Messi was the star with two free kick goals. His immense talent was on display, and one lunatic is claiming Messi's goals were due to luck. That lunatic is Lionel Messi.
"I've just been lucky enough to score those and I'm very happy the team won and very grateful to everyone for their support and such a warm welcome," Messi said after the game.