Barcelona

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 will face Paris Saint-Germain and former striker Neymar while title holders Bayern Munich are up against Italy's Lazio in the last 16 of the Champions League after UEFA's draw was held on Monday.

The clash of Lionel Messi and Barça with last year's runners-up PSG is a repeat of their remarkable meeting at the same stage in 2017 when Barça overcame a 4-0 first leg loss to beat the French club 6-1 in Spain with Neymar scoring twice for the Catalans.

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.

With the entire globe tuning in to watch Lionel Messi play Cristiano Ronaldo for perhaps the final time, who could’ve predicted that the first half between Barcelona and Juventus would be dominated by dueling Americans Sergiño Dest and Weston McKennie?

Juve controlled possession at the Camp Nou in the opening 45 minutes, so it was Dest who featured most heavily for Barcelona on both defense and with the ball — only Miralem Pjanić had more touches for Barça.

In the history of the game, no player has captured both the UEFA Champions League and AFC Champions League in their career. Wouldn’t it be fitting if Andrés Iniesta — a four-time UCL winner and the most decorated Spanish footballer of all time — became the first?

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.