Lionel Messi has won LaLiga s Pichichi Trophy for an eighth time and the fifth season running, after finishing the 2020-21 campaign with 30 goals.
Messi may well have played his final game for Barcelona. He did not feature in Saturday s win over Eibar, having been granted permission to take a break ahead of Argentina s Copa America campaign.
The 33-year-old is out of contract at the end of next month and it is not yet clear where his future lies.
Though despite the uncertainty, Messi has not failed to deliver on the pitch, and from 35 league appearances, he netted 30 times – 17 clear of Antoine Griezmann, who ranks second for Barca on 13.
Messi s goals came from a total of 196 shots, with 27 from his left, one from his right and two from his head.
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Defending champions Marseille will take a new look strike force with them to Bordeaux on Sunday as they look to build on last weekend s first win of the season over Lorient.
Didier Deschamps team made a slow start to the season losing their first two matches before coming good in round three, the problems caused in part by the fractious departure to Turkish side Fenerbahce of club captain Mamadou Niang last season s top scorer in Ligue 1.
This week, however, has seen the champions complete the signings of two strikers Andre-Pierre Gignac from Toulouse and Loic Remy from Nice who certainly have the ability to find the back of the net.
Remy s arrival was clouded by a medical which showed a possible problem with his heart. The Marseille medics were ultimately satis…
What the papers say
Manchester United defender Harry Maguire, 30, has emerged as a target for Tottenham, according to The Daily Telegraph. The London club are hoping the signing could help persuade his England colleague Harry Kane to stay at the club as big-name clubs line up for his signature.
Maguire is one of eight players United are looking to move on this summer, reports the Daily Mirror. Striker Anthony Martial, 27, Scott McTominay, 26, fellow midfielder Fred, 30, and goalkeeper Dean Henderson, 26, are also on the list, along with defenders Eric Bailly, 29, Alex Telles, 30, and Brandon Williams, 22.
Brighton want more than £70 million for Manchester United target Moises Caicedo, says The Daily Telegraph. Chelsea and Arsenal are also chasing the 21-year-old Ecuado…
Arsene Wenger has defended Arsenal s decision to take a 14-minute flight to Norwich for Sunday s game with Alex Neil s side.
The Gunners travelling party are due to fly from Luton airport to Norwich on Saturday, despite a train journey from London taking just two hours and a journey by road taking only slightly longer.
Wenger, who opted to take the same journey by plane in 2012, has been branded ridiculous by environmental group Plane Stupid, but the 66-year-old insists the flight is a necessity given traffic issues in Norfolk.
When we made the decision there was some roadworks planned, he said. Sometimes the access to Norwich is difficult, so we decided to fly. But it s not a lot of difference.
We do not fly a lot any more. We take a train or coach. Th…
Parma have agreed with Sampdoria the outright signing of French winger Jonathan Biabiany.
The former Inter man had been co-owned by Sampdoria and Parma spending the last three seasons at the Stadio Ennio Tardini.
He featured 36 times in the Italian top flight last term and helped Roberto Donadoni s side to a sixth-place finish in Serie A.
A former France Under-21 international, Biabiany made only a handful of appearances for Sampdoria after leaving Inter in 2011.
Parma FC communicate that it has resolved the co-ownership agreement in its favour regarding the attacker Jonathan Biabiany with UC Sampdoria, Parma said in a statement on their website.
The signing will likely prove a welcome boost to fans of the club after the disappointment of the c…
Bookmaker: Bet365
The second Madrid derby in less than a mouth bears huge importance for both teams as Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid lock horns in the first leg of the Champions League semifinal at Santiago Bernabeu, looking to earn a valuable advantage and get on a front foot in this highly-anticipated tie.
Real Madrid
Real Madrid have recovered well from the El Clasico shock. Los Blancos notched back-to-back wins over Deportivo La Coruna and Valencia, respectively, to prover they will not back down in the race for the La Liga crown. Still. With a game in hand on their bitter rivals Barcelona, Zinedine Zidane’s men have been pushed down to second spot in the standings and will be under huge pressure until the end of the season. La Liga title race is something can�…
Barcelona make Marlon s loan move permanent in a €5M deal / Image via myfcbarca.com
Old Face, New Signing
By no means is the Brazilian international Marlon Santos a new face at FC Barcelona’s camp, but the fact that 21-year-old defender was officially purchased from Fluminense for €5 million this week deserves a note on these pages.
The Catalan giants have revealed they took up the option to keep Marlon Santos at the club for the next three seasons by turning his loan spell from Fluminense into a permanent deal.
The Brazilian defender was a key part of Gerrard Lopez’s Barcelona B side last season. Marlon made 24 competitive appearances for the reserve squad and his impressive displays led to the player being called up to the first team by Luis Enrique o…
Robert Lewandowski scored a crucial late goal as a nervy Barcelona edged into the Champions League quarter-finals with a 3-1 win over Napoli.
Lewandowski’s 83rd-minute effort finally finished off the Italians at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium with Barca progressing 4-2 on aggregate.
Barca had stormed ahead with goals in quick succession from Fermin Lopez and Joao Cancelo but Napoli hit back through Amir Rrahmani and were threatening an equaliser before Lewandowski had the last word.
FULL TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona)
Napoli striker Victor Osimhen had the first chance of what proved an open game but failed to trouble Marc-Andre Ter Stegen before Lopez dragged a shot wide at the other …
Jonny Evans said Northern Ireland’s 1-0 Euro 2024 qualifying defeat to Denmark was “hard to take” after he was adjudged to be offside when setting up Callum Marshall for what had appeared to be a stoppage-time equaliser.
The 1,700 travelling fans inside the Parken Stadium erupted when teenage debutant Marshall neatly directed Evans’ header inside the post following Jordan Thompson’s free-kick.
But when referee Daniel Stefanski signalled there would be a VAR check, a seemingly interminable five-minute wait followed as Tomasz Kwiatkowski took an age to review the footage before eventually ruling that Evans had been offside by the tightest of margins when Thompson struck the free-kick.
The Copenhagen fairytale ending was not to be
— Northern Ir…
West Brom chairman Jeremy Peace has vowed to improve fortunes at The Hawthorns after a disappointing Premier League campaign.
Despite enjoying some highs along the way, like a first victory at Manchester United since 1978, Albion only preserved their top-flight status by three points.
Steve Clarke and latterly Pepe Mel were unable to turn around the club s fortunes and both men lost their jobs as a consequence, leaving Peace looking for his seventh head coach in four years.
Peace admits performances were not good enough in 2013-14 and wants key lessons to be learnt.
For a club of our resources, it was always going to be difficult to repeat our highest Premier League finish of eighth in the previous season, Peace told the club s official website.
However, it…