Barca tries to get Messi out of international duty

Confirmation of Messi's injury also set off alarm bells in Argentina. The countdown has commenced for the 2014 Brazil World Cup and with only 253 days until the tournament kicks off, any injury to the Argentina captain is a headache.


Now more than ever, Tata Martino's words are gaining strength. The Barça coach spoke about the need to rest Messi and his other players, irrespective of whether the Argentine always wants to play. "They signed me to make decisions and I’m going to continue making them for the good of my players", the coach had said after the game against Real Sociedad.

On Saturday, after Barcelona's win over Almería, trans-Atlantic communications started between the Argentine Football Federation's medical team and its counterpart in Barcelona. Alejandro Sabella received confirmation of the Argentine star's injury this very Sunday, after the pertinent medical examinations were completed.

Messi travelling to Argentina to undergo a check-up with the Argentine national team's doctors has not yet been ruled out. Sabella plans to contact Barcelona this very Monday to discuss what steps must be taken. Depending on how the injury progresses, they will decide whether Messi will travel, even if he cannot take part in the matches against Peru and Uruguay, or whether they will follow his recovery from afar.

Bartra has an axe to grind at Celtic Park

Bartra will continue to partner up with Piqué on Tuesday. Mascherano's injury and the youngster's good performances in the last two games (Real Sociedad and Almería) mean that he will remain in the starting eleven.

The central defender returns to a stadium which is already familiar to him. On 7th November last year, he played 70 minutes and returned home defeated (2-1) – the first game which he lost wearing the first team shirt.


He failed to win again in the Champions League – after the game in Glasgow, he played the full ties against PSG and Bayern. His side never managed more than a draw against the Frenchmen and lost both matches against the Germans. Nevertheless, the youngster's performances have been good and he has played in three games this year.

Martino announced his squad on Sunday, which includes 19 first-team players and two from the reserves: Patric and Sergi Gómez. They both played against Mallorca in the game which Barça B lost (0-1) at the Mini Estadi after a Casadesús goal.

Messi has now scored more goals than any player in the history of Real Madrid

Lionel Messi has now scored more competitive goals than any player in the entire history of Real Madrid after overtaking Blancos' legend Raul on Saturday.

The Argentine attacker headed home the second for Barcelona in the Catalans' 4-1 win at home to Real Sociedad in La Liga on Tuesday night to draw level with Raul on 323 strikes in all competitions, but his fantastic goal at Almeria on Saturday has now seen him surpass the former Madrid favourite.

Messi's 324 strikes in all competitions have come in just 388 games for the Camp Nou outfit - and he is still only 26.

Leo, with 62 Champions League goals, is also closing in on Raul's record of 71 in Europe's premier club competition.

Raul's 323 goals for Real Madrid came in 741 games over 16 seasons at the Santiago Bernabeu. Messi, meanwhile, has hit 324 in only his 10th campaign for the Catalan club.

The 26-year-old was withdrawn with a thigh injury just short of the half-hour mark against Almeria and will be sidelined for between two and three weeks, Barca have confirmed.

How Messi's SMS SOS ousted Ibrahimovic

Lionel Messi was upset and, as usual, it was Josep Guardiola who bore the brunt. The Barcelona coach's mobile phone had just vibrated and he stared at the small screen, troubled. "Look at this", he muttered to his close friend, Manel Estiarte.


It was autumn 2009 and the Barça team bus was headed home after a league fixture. Though the exact words vary depending on who is telling the tale, all accounts agree on the gist of the Argentine's message to his coach: "Well, I can see I'm not important to the team anymore, so..."

Yet again, Messi was hiding behind the keyboard. Little matter that he was seated just a few rows behind Guardiola on the bus. The best player in the world has always been a man of few words and found it easier to communicate via text message than face-to-face. But that does not make him any less ambitious or willing to assert himself to preserve his own status.

There is a turn of phrase offered up by the Barcelona dressing room that perfectly sums up how the Argentine goes about things: "He's no dictator, but he certainly makes his presence felt in his own way".

The arrival of Ibrahimovic, a player Guardiola had pushed hard to sign, had come as a blow to Messi. His quest for unrivalled supremacy, to be unanimously regarded as the main man at Barcelona and not to have to fight for this standing – because everyone automatically put him on this pedestal – had come under challenge. With Ibra in the picture, all that was threatened. One SMS was all it took to get the matter back under control.