Barcelona director, Pere Gratacos‘s recent remark about Lionel Messi has cost him his job.
Shortly after Friday’s Copa del Rey draw in Madrid, Gratacos told reporters. “Leo is one of the most important people in the team, but it’s not just about him. He would not be as good without Andres Iniesta, Neymar and company, but Messi is the best.”
Not long after that, Barcelona released a statement confirming that Gratacos, who once coached Messi during his spell at La Masia, had been sacked
“FC Barcelona have dismissed Pere Gratacos as head of institutional sporting relations with the Royal Spanish Football Federation for having publicly expressed a personal opinion that does not match that of the club after the draw for the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey held today in Madrid.
“The decision has been taken by Albert Soler, director of professional sports, who will assume these functions directly from now on.”
The Argentine’s contract expires in 2018 and his club are keen to make him commit his future to Camp Nou.
"We were admiring his boots". Aguero recalls his first meeting with Messi.
Argentinian forward, Sergio Aguero has recalled his first meeting with fellow compatriot, Lionel Messi. Speaking to Fifa.com, the Manchester City forward said, “We were having lunch with the national U-20 team. Lionel was sitting next to me. All my team-mates were talking about the boots he’d brought from the USA, and I just couldn’t work out how he’d got hold of them. Who was this kid? I asked him his name and he said: ‘Lionel, Lionel Messi,’ but I had no idea who he was.
He continued, “I was just trying to work out how he’d managed to get those boots. Then one of my team-mates said to me: ‘You don’t know who he is? It’s Messi, the kid from Barcelona’. That’s when I realised who he was. I tell you one thing, though: he knew who I was!”
Messi has been nominated for the Best FIFA Men’s Player of 2016 alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Antoine Griezmann. Tipping his friend to scoop the gong, Aguero said, “He’s ahead of the rest, including the other nominees… And I’m not just saying that because he’s my friend. I train with him and I see it with my own eyes. He does things I don’t see anyone else doing. He’s the best there is.”
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Former Spain coach weighs in on the Messi/Ronaldo debate
Former Spain coach, Javier Clemente has weighed in on the long-standing debate about who is the better player between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The Spaniard opined that the Barcelona talisman is better than his Portuguese rival adding that the latter should be “happy and proud to be second.”
Speaking to Cadena Ser (h/t Sacha Pisani of Goal), Clemente claimed, “Messi is ahead of everyone. He does different things and the sum of those parts lifts him to first place. Cristiano should be happy and proud to be second in the word. Cristiano has better abdominals, a height advantage, and he headers better. There are thing that Cristiano does better, but Messi beats him in technique, ability and vision, and that’s that. He should be happy and proud to be second in the word, there’s no more noble thing in sport to recognize the quality of your rivals.”
Ultimate Team Of The Year: Meet UEFA's All-Time XI
UEFA today unveiled their all-time XI as the Team of the Year 2016 vote launches today!
The football governing body also explained why the select footballers made it to the team.
Meet the nominees!
Iker Casillas (Goalkeeper) – Real Madrid/Porto & Spain
Spain’s captain at UEFA EURO 2008 and 2012 also lifted the 2010 FIFA World Cup – three of the six times he made it into Team of the Year. Manuel Neuer and Gianluigi Buffon (three selections each) are his main (albeit distant) rivals for the No 1 shirt.
Carles Puyol (Defender) – Barcelona & Spain
Enjoyed a golden run from 2005 onwards, winning the UEFA Champions League with Barça in 2006, 2009 and 2011, and UEFA EURO 2008 and the 2010 World Cup as cornerstone of his country’s defence.
Philipp Lahm (Defender) – Bayern München & Germany
One of Europe’s most consistent performers of the past decade, Lahm’s run of three successive Team of the Year appearances came to an end in 2015.
Sergio Ramos (Defender)– Real Madrid & Spain
Four selections in a row are a measure of the Real Madrid man’s standing, the defender having earlier been rewarded for his role in helping Spain to UEFA EURO 2008 glory.
Gerard Piqué (Defender) – Barcelona & Spain
One of four defenders to have been chosen four times along with Alessandro Nesta, Daniel Alves and John Terry, Piqué squeezes into the XI on a tie-breaker by virtue of having been nominated seven times – while his three rivals received only six nominations each.
Xavi Hernández (midfielder)– Barcelona & Spain
A contender in 2005, it was not until his second involvement in 2008 that Xavi made the cut – then there was no dislodging him as unprecedented success with club and country kept him in the side for five years running.
Andrés Iniesta (midfielder) – Barcelona & Spain
Like midfield partner Xavi, once he forced his way into the Team of the Year Iniesta proved impossible to remove until 2013, but returned in splendour in 2015.
Steven Gerrard (midfielder) – Liverpool & England
One of five midfielders to have been selected three times, seven nominations were key to taking the Liverpool talisman into the ultimate XI at the expense of Kaká (five nominations), Ronaldinho (four), Pavel Nedvěd (three) and Zinédine Zidane (three).
Cristiano Ronaldo (forward) – Manchester United/Real Madrid & Portugal
Nominated a record 13 times, the Portuguese phenomenon has been included in the Team of the Year no fewer than ten occasions, three more than any other player. The 2015 team marked his ninth appearance in a row.
Lionel Messi (forward) – Barcelona & Argentina
Like Ronaldo, Messi was initially categorised as a midfielder – collecting the first of ten successive nominations in 2006 – and has missed out on the Team of the Year just once, in 2013, since his 2008 debut.
Thierry Henry (forward) – Arsenal & France
Nominated for the first six editions, Henry’s consistency was such that he got into the final selection no fewer than five times, including the first four – the only player to achieve that.
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Messi leads media boycott over false accusations.
Following their 3-0 World Cup qualifier victory over Columbia yesterday, All 26 players of Argentina National Team led by Lionel Messi declared that the team will no longer be speaking to the press.
The decision was made after a radio station accused one of the players, Ezequiel Lavezzi of smoking marijuana after a training session, a report which turned out to be completely false.
Addressing a team of reporters who converged after the game, the Barcelona helmsman said,
“We have decided not to speak anymore with the press. We’ve received many accusations, a lot of lack of respect and we never said anything. We know there are lots of you who are not in the game of not showing us respect, but getting into one’s personal life is very grave.”
Having made this clear, the team walked out on the reporters.
Lavezzi is reportedly suing the radio journalist who reported the false story.
Reports: Messi will not renew his contract with Barcelona
According to spanish media outfit, Marca, Lionel Messi won’t renew with Barcelona mainly due to tax problems in Spain and will see out current his deal before deciding his future. The newspaper claimed the 29 year-old whose current contract with the Catalans ends on June 30, 2018 made the decision in July 2016 during a family vacation in Ibiza. Messi’s representatives and Barcelona have reportedly not made any official contacts since July.
Mikel Arteta revealed as the man who provoked Messi in the tunnel
Remember the tunnel incident involving Messi and an unnamed man few days ago? Read it here
The unnamed man has been identified. It was Guardiola’s assistant, Mikel Arteta who irked and insulted the Argentine at the tunnel shortly after their clash with Barcelona on Tuesday.
Spanish radio station, La Cope learnt that immediately the former Arsenal player sighted Messi waiting outside the referee’s room, he said: ‘Anda tontorrón, vete y métete en tu vestuario,’ meaning: ‘Move along stupid, get yourself in your dressing room.’
Read more
Messi loses cool, storms Man City dressing room
A little drama happened after Barcelona lost 3-1 to Manchester City yesterday.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Lionel Messi who scored the only goal for the Blaugranas was said to have lost his cool after an unnamed Manchester City player called him names while they were walking down the tunnel at full time.
Visibly angry, the Argentine fired back “Fool, come here and show your face!”. MD learnt his friend, Sergio Aguero had to calm him down when things were getting out of hand. Still not satisfied, he reportedly stormed the Man City dressing room with Carles Naval, to try and find the person who worked him up.
Meanwhile the 29 year-old has scored 16 goals in his last 14 CL games against English opposition.
Bad night huh?
Messi now holds the record for most hat-tricks in #UCL history.
Lionel Messi has become the first player in Champions history to score 6 Champions League hat-tricks, his 36th career hat-trick. The Argentine is also the first player to reach the mark of 50 goals in the UCL group stage.
He achieved this feat today after Barcelona thrashed Celtic 7-0 at the Camp Nou tonight. He is followed closely by Cristiano Ronaldo with 5 hat-tricks in CL.
I'm on Messi and Ronaldo's level – Arsenal star
Arsenal forward, Alexis Sanchez has
equalled his abilities with that of renowned sports men, Cristiano Ronaldo and
Lionel Messi. The Chile international netted 30 goals in 68 league appearances and
won the La Liga title and one Copa del Rey before leaving the shores of Spain
in 2014 and signing for the Gunners.
equalled his abilities with that of renowned sports men, Cristiano Ronaldo and
Lionel Messi. The Chile international netted 30 goals in 68 league appearances and
won the La Liga title and one Copa del Rey before leaving the shores of Spain
in 2014 and signing for the Gunners.
He told Sport: “I have reached a level where I can compete with
great players. I do not feel inferior to anybody. I liken [my qualities] to
Messi and Ronaldo. I have the same abilities as them.”
great players. I do not feel inferior to anybody. I liken [my qualities] to
Messi and Ronaldo. I have the same abilities as them.”
.