Well Barcelona fans, the unthinkable has happened. OK, that’s a little over dramatic, but Lionel Messi is injured.
Messi has a tear in the internal collateral ligament of his left knee. He will be out for around 7-8 weeks pic.twitter.com/TLor97gmou
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) September 26, 2015
For Pete's sake, Neymar, do your taxes.
The Brazilian striker has had assets totalling $47.75 million frozen by a Brazilian court due to tax evasion charges.
Neymar makes about $14 million in salary and $17 million in endorsements. That is enough money for someone to live on even if he pays his taxes.
Well, the rivalry between the two best footballers in the world has taken a turn for the more intense.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo had a heated confrontation on the pitch during a recent Classico. Harsh words were exchanged. Gestures were used in an angry manner. Not surprising from two of the most competitive people on the planet, but goodness guys there were children watching.
Lionel Messi is one of the richest athletes in the world in 2015. He may not be the richest soccer player – that honor goes to Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid – but he's certainly close. And, as of 2014, Lionel Messi had the highest salary (overall earnings) of any footballer.
So exactly how much is Messi worth, and how much does he get paid?
It is incredibly hard for an individual player to have an affect on a soccer match. The game is comprised of 22 players that at any one time could be making more of an impact than any one player. There could be a defensive battle on the left side of the field that renders the right winger a spectator. The left-back in a defense could be such a defensive liability that the opposing attack choses to go nowhere else but through him, leaving the corresponding right back to do little more than mark space in solitude.
While Wayne Rooney was not exactly having the game of his life in Swansea, his family was in Barcelona on holiday. Rooney's son Kai got to take a break from the usual crew at Manchester United and hang out with a different collection of footballers than normal, the likes of Neymar, Messi, Suarez and Gerard Pique.
Suarez has pulled off one of the hardest things a great player can ever do: leave a great, proud club for an even better one, and still have the old fan base like him.
Sure, there was some bad blood in the immediate aftermath of his departure from Liverpool, but now, a year on, it’s hard to say that many Liverpool fans dislike the man. Whenever he comes up in conversation, thoughts usually turn to all of the ridiculously amazing things he did for the club, not bitterness.
You can't do it all alone, even if you're the best player in the world. This was the message Lionel Messi gave when interviewed after winning the UEFA Player of the Year award (again).
"What we all achieved is all thanks to this great team," Messi said. "When you manage to achieve all your objectives with the group, then your personal objectives can also be achieved."
Messi cements his reputation as a humble superstar here, knowing that even he can't win every game by himself (although in truth he could probably get close).
Stay classy, Messi.
Good God almighty, the unthinkable has happened in Ireland. Limerick FC have pulled off perhaps the greatest transfer coup in the history of soccer, signing electric Brazilian forward Neymar away from heavyweight Barcelona.
How could this have happened? We haven't been able to pin down any details on the transfer, but it was reported earlier this week that Manchester United might bif 240 million pounds for Neymar, so that's the range we're talking here.
Lionel Messi is good at soccer. UEFA has acknowledged Messi's goodness at soccer by giving him the UEFA Player of the Year award for the 2014-2015 season.
Presumably you already know who Messi is and why he won this prestigious award, but just in case you forgot or want to watch some cool goals, here's every goal from Messi this season.
Messi beat out fellow nominees Luis Suarez and Cristiano Ronaldo.