Lionel Messi

Neymar was never out of the headlines while at Barcelona and his departure continues to leave ripples at the Catalan club, so all eyes will be on him when Paris Saint-Germain meet the LaLiga side in the Champions League last 16 early next year.

Barcelona stopped the rot — for the time being — by defeating 18th-place Levante 1-0 at the Camp Nou on Sunday to climb to eighth in LaLiga. The home side put 13 shots on target but the only one that counted was Lionel Messi’s angled finish in the 76th-minute following Frenkie de Jong’s well-weighted ball.

It’d been a terrible week for Barcelona as last Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Cádiz was followed by a 3-0 beatdown from Juventus in the Champions League, a result which condemned Barcelona to facing one of Bayern, Dortmund, Liverpool, Man City, Chelsea or PSG in the Round of 16. 

The 36th and perhaps final meeting between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo ended fittingly at the Camp Nou on Tuesday with Juventus strolling to a 3-0 win against a sad, soft and directionless Barcelona. It’s all too evident why Messi — like Ronaldo before him at Real Madrid — is ready to move on.

Barcelona's interim president Carlos Tusquets feels the club should have cashed-in on Lionel Messi during the summer transfer window.

Messi was heavily linked with a move to Manchester City and sent a recorded delivery (Burofax) letter stating his intention to leave. He later said the decision was due to being disillusioned with the direction the now former board had taken the club. Ex-Barça president Josep Maria Bartomeu resigned in October rather than face a vote of no confidence, with Tusquets taking temporary charge until January's elections.

MADRID — Lionel Messi and Barcelona have been fined a combined 780 euros ($943) after the player was shown a yellow card for lifting his shirt to pay tribute to the late Diego Maradona following his goal in Sunday's 4-0 win over Osasuna.

Messi, who was fined 600 euros while his club was fined 180, paid homage to his late compatriot by taking off his Barca shirt to reveal a Newell's Old Boys shirt belonging to Maradona, a gesture that was praised around the world.

Barcelona responded to last weekend’s defeat to Atlético Madrid by comfortably beating Osasuna 4-0 at the Camp Nou on Sunday. Martin Braithwaite opened the scoring, Antoine Griezmann hit an incredible volley before setting up Philippe Coutinho for Barça’s third and Lionel Messi got the fourth with a sweet sweep of his left foot. 

Before the match, the life of Diego Maradona — who spent two seasons with Barcelona between 1982 and 1984 — was honored with his No. 10 shirt placed in the middle of the pitch. 

Barcelona forward Antoine Griezmann has dismissed talk of a rift with team mate Lionel Messi and said he had nothing to do with recent comments about the Argentine forward from his former agent and his uncle.

Earlier this month, Griezmann's former agent Eric Olhats said Messi's "reign of terror" had made life difficult for Griezmann, while the French forward's uncle said it was not easy to play in the same club as the six-time Ballon d'Or winner.

You know it’s serious when Antoine Griezmann shows up for his own special segment on Movistar+. Most infamously, Griezmann appeared on the network back in the summer of 2018 to announce — in the face of interest from Barcelona — that he was staying at Atlético Madrid with the resounding cry of “My fans, my team, my HOME.”

One summer later Griezmann was on his way to the Camp Nou after Barça met his $142 million release clause, but Monday’s appearance on Movistar+ has to do with what’s transpired since that fractious move.