In the tweet, Abbink seemed to have discovered a press release by FIFA declaring Messi the winner of Ballon d’Or and Germany’s Celia Sasic as the winner of the Women’s World Player of the Year award
Browsing: Lionel Messi
River, the Copa Libertadores champions, held their own for much of the first half, but their resolve was broken 10 minutes before the interval
The Argentinian superstar is suffering from renal colic, a stomach pain often caused by kidney stones
Messi is already facing a separate tax fraud charge along with his father for allegedly failing to declare $4.6 million in taxes related to his image rights between 2007 and 2009
Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Franck Ribery and Manuel Neuer have been among the challengers over the past five years, but Messi and Ronaldo have finished either first or second in the last four editions
The defeat to Sevilla was the team’s first since a 0-1 loss to Bayern Munich in the pre-season Audi Cup in August, and ended a run of three straight wins in the Spanish top flight
As individuals, Messi and Ronaldo have dominated the game for the best part of the last decade, with the last seven Ballon d’Ors won by one of the two
Arsenal forward, Alexis Sanchez, Chelsea’s Eden Hazard and Manchester City trio of Sergio Aguero, Kevin De Bruyne and Yaya Toure are the only players from England’s top flight to make the 23-man list
The Portugal captain and FIFA Ballon d’Or holder netted 61 times in all competitions in 2014-15, although Real missed out on the three main titles as arch rivals, Barcelona, swept to a treble of Champions League, La Liga and King’s Cup triumphs
Messi had the charges dropped against him earlier this week after prosecutors claimed that the footballer had no knowledge of the fraud allegedly being carried out
The Argentine international was ruled out for two months late last month after suffering a ligament injury in his team’s 2-1 win over Las Palmas
The striker is accused of not paying €14 million in taxes between 2011 and 2013
With the visitors leading 4-0 from the first leg at the San Mames, the odds were stacked against the Blaugrana, who needed a blistering start to unsettle their opponents
The showpiece, being played between two Spanish teams for the second consecutive year, was lit up by a free kick masterclass in the first half, with Ever Banega giving his side a perfect start by curling his set piece into the top corner after just three minutes
Barcelona and Argentina superstar, Lionel Messi, has emerged as the unlikely saviour of a kidnapped man in Nigeria. Santiago Lopez…
There were half chances for both sides in the opening stages as the match got under way in lively fashion, with a disallowed Barca goal among the early talking points
Messi claimed the crucial goal just past the hour mark, exchanging passes with Neymar on the edge of the area, slaloming into the box, past the lunging defenders, and finishing calmly
Barcelona will face either Real Madrid or Juventus, who play their second leg on Wednesday, in the final of the tournament on June 6
The home side had a strong penalty shout inside four minutes when Jerome Boateng seemed to trip Luis Suarez inside the box, but the referee was not interested. Suarez was again involved after seven minutes following a quick counter from the hosts, but the Argentine’s effort was straight at Neuer during what was an open start to proceedings
The only negative for Luis Enrique’s side was Jordi Alba getting sent off in the second half for earning two successive bookings, but the league leaders continued playing as if it was they who had an extra man, and could have extended their lead