That shock of losing the Ballon d’Or to the trophy- less Cristiano Ronaldo still hunts Ribery till today.
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Barcelona coach Luis Enrique is confident that Lionel Messi will bounce back after having a tough summer. He is certain that his Barcelona ally is the superior player, and even went as far as to say that Messi’s stats should guarantee him the Ballon d’Or.
In addition to the Celtic match, the Blaugrana will participate in friendlies on August 3 against Premier League champions Leicester City (2 p.m. ET, on ESPN) in Sweden and on August 6 against Liverpool in London (12:15 p.m. ET, on ESPN).
“Lionel Messi is the best player in the world – aside from the titles”, Suarez said.
Barcelona have announced Lionel Messi will travel with the squad for a week of pre-season training in England.
“He is the cut above the rest in every match, Suarez said”.
The Uruguayan worldwide does not believe that Cristiano Ronaldo’s trophy-winning exploits with Real Madrid and Portugal should result in him taking the Ballon d’Or off the Argentine.
Messi quit worldwide football after his country lost to Chile in the Copa America final in June, while the Argentina captain and his father Jorge were given jail sentences by a Spanish court earlier this month for tax fraud.
It’s good news for fans in the United Kingdom who may now get to see the 29-year-old star in action.
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Laporta on Saturday accused Josep Maria Bartomeu’s board of letting Messi down during his tax ordeal, and the former Barca President time wasted no time in escalating his criticism by fuelling talk of a conspiracy behind the scenes at Camp Nou, geared towards forcing the Argentine to leave. His return to Barca surely allows him to turn the page.
