Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi turned in a Midas-like performance in Saturday’s Copa del Rey final — everything he touched turned into gold. He opened the scoring for Barca in the 30th minute with an unstoppable effort from 18 yards out, he was heavily involved with a “hockey assist” in Neymar’s goal and then he settled the match before halftime with a sublime feed for Paco Alcacer and Barcelona’s third.  

Outside of these pivotal moments, Messi was unplayable. He registered 101 touches in the game, including four key passes, four shots and a staggering nine successful dribbles. 

Losing a World Cup final in extra time is brutal and tough to come back from. Losing a Copa America final on penalties the subsequent year is a kick to the teeth. Losing yet another Copa America final the following year, to the same team and in the same manner, is practically a kill shot to any footballer’s professional hopes and dreams.

Barcelona’s 4-2 victory over Eibar was rendered meaningless by Real Madrid’s 2-0 win against Eibar, but the event-riddled match still provided plenty of highlights. 

Luis Enrique’s final match in charge at the Camp Nou began disastrously. As news filtered through the stadium regarding Real Madrid’s early opener, Eibar scored a sensational goal of their own with Takashi Inui lifting a left footed half-volley into the roof of the net in the 7th minute.

Everyone wants to swap jerseys with Lionel Messi, but who does Lionel Messi want to swap shirts with? Let's find out:

That man in the picture above is not Lionel Messi. He is an imposter. We wouldn't blame you for thinking he's real, though. A lot of people thought he was real, so many that the police had to get involved.

Here are three very alarming sentences from the BBC:

So many people in the city of Hamaden wanted a picture with Reza Parastesh that police took him to the station and impounded his car to stop the chaos.

Lionel Messi has scored 51 goals in 49 games this season for Barcelona. So, it's no wonder that club executives are in a hurry to get negotiations over with and to get Messi's contract finalized.

It appears today that the club and Messi's agents may be close to a deal. Only a day after we reported that Messi's camp rejected Barcelona's initial offer, Barcelona VP Jordi Mestre said "it won't be long" before Lionel Messi signs a new contract with FC Barcelona.