Sky Sports football pundit Gary Neville interviewed former teammate David Beckham this week on the details of his recent decision to retire from the sport. Beckham singled out Barcelona star Lionel Messi as the culprit:

Neville: “When did that moment come, when did it hit you [that it was time to retire]?”

Beckham: “I probably knew when Messi was running past me in the home game, but I’m privileged to have won the trophies I have won.”

Words: SkySports • Image: Kevork Djansezian [Getty]

FC Barcelona’s official site announced today that Messi has a strained right hamstring and will be out for two to three weeks. The Argentine forward limped off the field against Atlético Madrid on Sunday which cut short his first Liga start since March. Messi has been fighting a recurring injury since the away leg against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League quarter-finals, playing portions of several games since then despite not being fully fit, which has likely exacerbated the injury. He could be available for the team’s final game against Málaga, but it would probably be best for all involved if Messi rested for the rest of the season.

Image: Miguel Ruiz (FCB)

FC Barcelona’s Lionel Messi left the pitch owing to a right leg injury during Sunday’s match against Atlético Madrid. The Argentine forward exited the match in the 67th minute upon noticing his muscle problem and after all three substitutions had already been made. The player will undergo further medical tests Monday to determine the extent of the injury. Speaking at a press conference after the match, coach Tito Vilanova explained, “he [Messi] felt well but, as is often the case with muscular injuries, the discomfort returned suddenly.” Continue reading »

Watch the highlights from last night’s game between FC Barcelona and Real Betis after the jump!

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Éric Abidal and Sergio Busquets have both been cleared to play by FC Barcelona’s medical staff following training on Sunday morning, which was the final session before the visit of Betis this evening (21:00). The two players, along with Messi, were able to train normally with the rest of the group. Pedro, meanwhile, did specific training work separate from his teammates.

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FC Barcelona’s first team was back at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper this Saturday morning. Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets were both able to train normally with the group. Defender Abidal was also able to continue working at the same pace as his teammates, as he had during Friday’s training session.

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With less than an hour to go before kickoff, Barcelona has announced the starting eleven for the Bayern Munich semi-final. And Leo Messi is not on the list!

The complete lineup is as follows:

Valdés

Alves Piqué Bartra Adriano

Song Xavi Iniesta

Villa Cesc Pedro

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With his exquisite goal versus Athletic Bilbao, Lionel Messi scored his 24th league away goal of the season. That’s a new record, beating out the previous record of 23, set by Cristiano Ronaldo last season. He simultaneously broke another record, described after the jump.

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What is that?? Reading this post’s title, this might be your first reaction. But at the same time, I would like to invite you to explore a bit more.

A few weeks ago a beautiful video became popular on YouTube. However, the notoriety wasn’t about the video itself, but the text that went along with it.

Hernán Casiari is an Argentinian journalist and writer who lives in Barcelona. About a year ago, he posted a text called “Messi is a dog” (“Messi es un perro”), in which he proceeded to explain why Messi is so different from all other modern football players. He proposed an interesting analogy, one that Norberto Janenson (an Argentinian showman-magician) turned into a video.

Here it is, one of the most emotive and inspiring works on our very own Leo Messi. I tried my best to make sure Casiari’s words did not get lost in translation.

Enjoy!

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Messi: “How do you say I’m going to dribble through your entire defense in about 60 minutes in Basque?” I wonder what they really were discussing?

Image: PEP MORATA

Team dctors have given FC Barcelona’s Argentine star the medical green light to play in Tuesday’s Champions League match against German powerhouse Bayern Munich, according to all Spanish and Catalan sporting media. Tito Vilanova and Jori Roura were sweating on the fitness of the striker who injured his thigh two weeks ago. The player was declared fully fit just three hours before the match was set to begin and will almost surely feature in the starting lineup.

Image: fcbarcelona.cat

Messi smiles during training at the Allianz Arena ahead of the UEFA Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich.

Picture Credit: PEP MORATA – MD

This Monday afternoon at 19:00, FC Barcelona held its first and last training session on the pitch of the Allianz Arena, the venue for Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final first leg between Bayern Munich and Barça.

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By the time Barça takes the field tomorrow, it will have been 13 days since Lionel Messi last featured in a game. With the exception of the winter holiday, this will be the Argentine’s longest stretch without playing a competitive match in the 2012/13 season. Like Puyol, Messi is incredibly competitive, and this extended rest – though necessary to recover from injury – has likely infuriated him. While he may not be at 100% fitness tomorrow, after nearly two weeks on the bench he will undoubtedly be raring to go. Bayern Munich has an impressive defense, but even the likes of Dante and Neuer may find themselves hard put to stop an impatient and eager Messi.

Image: David Ramos/Getty Images

Lionel Messi was able to train at the normal pace this Sunday morning, and though he has not yet been cleared to play by FC Barcelona’s medical staff, he is on the list of 21 players called up for the Champions League semi-final first leg against Bayern Munich. Messi’s recovery leaves just three players unavailable for Tuesday’s match: Mascherano and Puyol, both injured, and Adriano, who is suspended. Barça B goalkeeper Oier also makes the 21-man squad.

Squad list for Tuesday: Valdés, Pinto, Dani Alves, Piqué, Fàbregas, Xavi, Villa, Iniesta, Alexis, Messi, Thiago, Dos Santos, Bartra, Sergio, Pedro, Jordi Alba, Montoya, Abidal, Song, Tello, and Oier.

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José Manuel Pinto has received his medical clearance after training this Saturday at midday. The blaugrana’s ‘13’ missed the last league match at La Romareda against Rea Zaragoza owing to lumbago (low back pain).

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Lionel Messi started working with the group this Friday, spending part of FC Barcelona’s training session with the rest of his teammates. He continues to take steps forward in his recovery, having spent Thursday’s training session on the pitch of the Ciutat Esportiva doing physical conditioning work. Sergio Busquets, who is recovering from a groin injury, also trained with the group.

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Lionel Messi is again the highest paid on-pitch (i.e. purely salary) football player. In its annual “The Business of Soccer” feature, Forbes analyzes the earnings of football’s top paid professionals. In its 2013 publishing, based on complete 2012 figures, Lionel Messi is paid by FC Barcelona (the world’s highest wage paying team in all sports don’t forget) USD 21.2 million per annum after the recent contract renegotiation. Much more after the jump.

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On Wednesday, two Argentine icons, the world’s greatest football player and the current Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church, got a bit closer when Pope Francis was presented with the No. 10 Barcelona jersey of Lionel Messi.

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This Thursday, Lionel Messi was back on the pitch at the Ciutat Esportiva. The Argentine, who injured the hamstring in his right leg during the Champions League match at the Parc des Princes, began doing physical conditioning work on the pitch at the training center.

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Lionel Messi and Carles Puyol are doing their utmost to be prepared for the first leg semi-final against Bayern Munich on April 23rd.  More after the jump.

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We’re now at the time of the season when injuries seem to pile up, one after the other, with the recoveries being replaced by freshly received physical damage. The FC Barcelona website reports that the latest to join this conveyor belt of heroic-wounded is José Manuel Pinto with lumbago (lower back pain), and Sergio Busquets, who has a groin injury. More after the break.

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On Saturday night, Barça went out and trashed Mallorca 5-0. They did it without Messi, without Puyol, Xavi or even Busquets. Sure it was Mallorca and not Man United, Madrid or PSG. But still, it is one of many games that have proved that Barça is not dependent on one or a few players. Of course, Messi is important for Barça, but the team has never been dependent on him. There are games when he came to play from the bench and contributed to a winning result, changed the outcome of the game, like the other day against PSG or like that cold night in Ukraine against Shakhtar in 2008. Let’s make this clear: Barça without Messi wouldn’t collapse. The team isn’t built around Messi, it’s built to get the best out of Messi. The Barça style isn’t dependent on him.

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This Thursday morning, Lionel Messi has been subjected to various medical tests to see if he suffered a recurrence of the injury to the hamstring in his right leg after participating in Wednesday’s match. The tests confirmed that the injury has not worsened or changed. The player will continue with his established recovery routine and his progress will determine his availability for the next matches.

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FC Barcelona must have believed they had done enough to take the tie when Xavi buried a penalty in the final minutes in Paris last week. However a nasty deflected goal in the dying seconds ensured that this quarter-final was far from over. Injuries to both Lionel Messi and Javier Mascherano left attack and defence with giant holes to fill and the odds began to stack up against Barça reaching their sixth consecutive semi-final. Barcelona were back to their best at the weekend drilling five goals past a hapless Mallorca, however Carlo Ancelloti’s troops promised not to be such a pushover.

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FC Barcelona held its final training session at the Camp Nou this Wednesday at midday, ahead of the second leg against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League quarter-finals. Working on the pitch were the 20 players called up for the match, including Messi, Pedro, and Adriano, though the three are yet to receive their medical clearances. The team will try this evening to make good on the first leg’s 2-2 result at the Parc des Princes.

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Andrés Iniesta was confident ahead of FC Barcelona’s Champions League tie against Paris Saint-Germain, despite the numerous injuries affecting the squad. The midfielder assured the press that the team would go out to play as if it were a final, with the hope of being able to reach the final at Wembley this year.

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Barça is often called a “one-man-team”. And the one man in the team is naturally Leo Messi. Now with Messi out due to an injury, Barça is more or less forced to look for other options, and the truthfulness of the term “one-man-team” should be revealed. However, I am not entirely convinced that this is an accurate term to describe Barça at all.

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FC Barcelona’s first team held a training session this Tuesday afternoon at the Ciutat Esportiva to help prepare for tomorrow’s Champions League match against Paris Saint-Germain. Lionel Messi was able to join his teammates, and was seen to be working normally with the group under the orders of Tito Vilanova during the opening minutes of the session. At the press conference before training, Jordi Roura noted the “positive evolution” of Messi’s recovery. Adriano and Pedro, without medical clearance, also trained at the same pace as the rest of their peers.

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