Lionel Messi

Jersey swapping at the end of football matches is a ritual which goes back to the beginning of time (1931). It’s a sign of respect and admiration after having spent 90 minutes trying to kill each other, and it’s given us some truly historic moments after titanic clashes.

England’s group defeat to Brazil at the 1970 World Cup offered up one of the most iconic images in the sport: England captain Bobby Moore and Brazilian great Pele exchanging shirts after a fierce 1-0 match in Guadalajara.

A horrid back-pass allowed Barcelona's Lionel Messi to sprint through on Osasuna’s goal in the 12th minute of Wednesday's La Liga encounter. As for the goal, I don’t even know. Messi’s first touch is with his head, he then juggles the ball to keep it elevated and then pops it over Salvatore Sirigu with his third touch. 

It’s absurd.

Lionel Messi scored his 500th goal for Barcelona in style, catapulting Barca back into La Liga's title race at the expense of their greatest rivals, Real Madrid. His historic feat is all the more impressive considering that Gerd Muller of Bayern Munich was the last player to score 500 goals for one club. He left Bayern in 1979. 

After Lionel Messi clinched a last-second victory in El Clasico on Sunday with his 500th career goal for Barcelona, Cristiano Ronaldo threw a fit.

Not sure whether Ronaldo was more annoyed at losing #ElClasico or the fact that Messi took the limelight again. pic.twitter.com/ZgdJerbFpq

Lionel Messi's 500th Barcelona goal was scored in the 91st minute of El Clasico to defeat Real Madrid, 3-2. 

First, a note about the losers: Real Madrid were the better side for most of the game. They were more organized and more aggressive, even snatching an equalizer while playing with 10 men. It looked like Real would win it for a bit there, as they were entirely on the front foot in the latter stages of the game. But Real Madrid did not win this game. They did not win this game because they do not have Lionel Messi, and Barcelona do.