La Liga

FC Barcelona plan on taking "legal action" against Spanish newspaper El Mundo after it leaked details of the €555 million ($673 million) contract Lionel Messi signed in 2017.

The club released the following statement on its website:

"In view of the information published today in...El Mundo, in relation to the professional contract signed between FC Barcelona and the player Lionel Messi, the club regrets its publication given that it is a private document governed by the principle of confidentiality between the parties.

"FC Barcelona categorically denies any responsibility for the publication of this document, and will take appropriate legal action against the newspaper El Mundo, for any damage that may be caused as a result of this publication.

"FC Barcelona expresses its absolute support for Lionel Messi, especially in the face of any attempt to discredit his image, and to damage his relationship with the entity where he has worked to become the best player in the world and in football history."

Sam Marsden and Moises Llorens of ESPN reported Messi also plans on taking legal action against the publication. The €555 million ($673.6 million) contract is said to be the most lucrative in professional sports history.

According to the ESPN report, only four copies of the contract exist, and the club plans on pursuing legal action against anyone who was part of leaking it to El Mundo.

The maximum value of the contract was dependent on targets that Messi has not reached, but the scope of the deal is nevertheless astounding—especially in light of Barcelona's financial troubles.

Messi sought to depart Barcelona last summer and seems likely to leave the club when his contract expires June 30.

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Real Madrid star Karim Benzema will stand trial after being charged with conspiracy to attempt blackmail, according to Samuel Petrequin of the Associated Press. 

A trial date has not yet been set.

Benzema was initially charged in 2015 after being accused of playing a role in blackmailing former France international teammate Mathieu Valbuena, who reportedly appeared in a sex tape.

Investigators believe Benzema was approached by a childhood friend to "act as an intermediary and persuade Valbuena to deal directly with the blackmailers." He was also suspected of pressuring Valbuena to pay the blackmailers.

Valbuena went to the police instead, leading to charges for Benzema and a night spent in jail in 2015.

After the initial charges, Benzema was left out of the French national team squad, and he was not part of the squad's run to the World Cup title in 2018 and hasn't played with the team since 2015. He has remained an elite player for his club, tallying 261 goals in all competitions for Real Madrid over 12 seasons.

Benzema has denied any wrongdoing in the case.

"This decision is as much absurd as it was predictable," his lawyer, Sylvain Cormier, told the AP.

FC Barcelona announced Wednesday that midfielder Philippe Coutinho is dealing with a knee injury that will require surgery. 

The club noted that Coutinho suffered an injury to the lateral meniscus in his left knee Tuesday against Eibar. As a result, he will undergo arthroscopic surgery "in the coming days."

Coutinho, 28, is in his third season with Barca but spent last season at Bayern Munich on loan.

Coutinho has been relatively productive in his return to Barcelona this season with three goals and two assists in 14 appearances, giving him a total of 24 goals in his three seasons with the club.

The former Inter Milan and Liverpool star's absence could be significant for a Barca side that has performed well below expectations this season.

Blaugrana are just sixth in the La Liga standings with seven wins, four losses and four draws. They trail Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid by seven points.

Barcelona aren't used to being so far down the table, having won 26 La Liga titles, including 10 since 2005.

Coutinho came off the bench for Miralen Pjanic against Eibar, and there will be more pressure on the likes of Pjanic to perform while Coutinho is out.

Barcelona, who have not provided a timetable for Coutinho's return, are scheduled to face Huesca in their next match on Sunday.

Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi appeared on La Sexta and spoke on a number of topics, from his commitment to Barcelona through the end of the season to his future in football. 

Messi told journalist Jordi Evole that he doesn't intend to request a transfer in January, but that he would be opting out of his contract with Barcelona at the end of the season (h/t Dermot Corrigan of The Athletic):  

"I want to wait until the season is over. Just thinking about ending season well, winning trophies, not getting involved in anything else. ... I will do what is best for me and for the club - with my heart and my head. When I finish as a player I want to come back and live in Barcelona, to have some role at the club. ... I've always had the dream of playing in another league, in the United States. Maybe it will happen, doesn't have to be right away. Today I am just focused on these next six months."

Messi also said that former president Josep Maria Bartomeu had misled him many times and leaked things through the media to make him look bad. The Argentine had been telling Bartomeu for six months that he wanted to leave before the summer's showdown when Messi tried to leave the club. 

But he said he feels more settled at Barcelona after a tumultuous summer, though he wasn't shy about pointing out the issues at the club.

"These days I am feeling well. I had a really bad time last summer with the Burofax and all that, and before. But now I feel good, excited to fight for everything in front of us. But club going through difficult moment, team too, everything around Barca is difficult. ... I know that things at Barca are really, really bad. It will be difficult to get back to where we were."

One of the decisions that Messi said bothered him was the club's decision to move on from Luis Suarez, who ended up with Atletico Madrid.

"It was crazy to let Luis Suarez leave for free, to pay up two years of his contract, and to go to a rival fighting for same things as Barca," he said (h/t Corrigan).

To the delight of Manchester City fans, Messi also spoke about Pep Guardiola, who he worked with previously at Barca:

"I speak with Pep, about how things are going at City, what things are like there. But not about working together again. Don't know when we last spoke. ... Pep is the best for how he prepared games, offensively and defensively, how I had to attack to win games. I thought after Pep I knew everything, but then Luis Enrique came and taught me even more new things."

Messi did praise his current manager, Ronald Koeman, however.

"With Koeman things became more serious, there was an idea for the team and the club," he said (h/t Corrigan). "He was a very good appointment; it was difficult with new players and youngsters, but the team is improving."

It sure sounds like Messi's time at Barcelona is winding to a close. Whether the 33-year-old winds up at Man City or another club, it will be strange to see Messi in a new kit. The legendary forward has spent his entire career with Barcelona. 

But he's not wrong when he says the club are in a transition period. The club finds itself in fifth place on the La Liga table, eight points behind Atletico Madrid (which also has a game in hand). It was something Messi saw coming before the season.

"I knew it would not be easy to leave the club of my life, would not be easy anywhere else, new city, new climate. My family didn't want to leave," he said (h/t Corrigan). "But I felt it was best in that moment for everyone—for me, the club, the cycle was over."  

Barcelona are allowing Lionel Messi to take an extended holiday break that will see him miss Tuesday's La Liga fixture against Eibar, according to ESPN FC's Sam Marsden and Moises Llorens.

Messi will be in the squad when Barca play Huesca on Jan. 3.

Messi's seven goals in La Liga are the most on the club. And Ansu Fati, the second-leading goalscorer, continues to be out while recovering from surgery for a meniscus injury in his left knee.

The Eibar fixture may provide Barcelona with a taste of what's to come.

No story in world football over the summer was bigger than Messi's transfer saga. The six-time Ballon d'Or winner attempted to trigger a termination clause in his contract, only for club officials to say the deadline to do so had expired. As a result, he had little choice but to remain at Camp Nou for 2020-21.

Marsden and Llorens wrote the 33-year-old has "not even opened talks over a renewal" and is eligible to sign a pre-contract agreement with a new club starting in January.

Barcelona are in the process of electing a new president, and Messi has naturally been a focus for some of the candidates looking to sway the club's members.

While Messi is a legendary figure in Catalonia, some have argued a clean break may benefit both parties. Barca would get some much-needed financial relief as they stare at a significant deficit and would have an easier time transitioning to the younger players in the first team. Messi, meanwhile, would likely spend the remainder of his career at another European giant that's better poised to compete for domestic and continental honours.

Barcelona star Lionel Messi has added yet another record to his legendary career.

Messi scored in the 65th minute as Barca defeated Real Valladolid 3-0 on Tuesday, notching his 644th goal for the club.

ESPN FC's Samuel Marsden noted that moves him ahead of Pele for the most goals scored with one club.

Perhaps somebody will eclipse Messi one day, but this might be one of the unbreakable records in sports. It requires not only a generational talent, but also for that talent to stay in one place for probably a decade or more.

Leaving aside his talent, a player like Messi is increasingly rare. A star who shines at a smaller club eventually moves on to a bigger club, and those who started at a top club seek a fresh challenge sooner or later.

Even Messi appears destined to leave Barcelona before his career concludes.

The 33-year-old wouldn't have been around to break Pele's record if he had gotten his wish this past summer. Growing frustrated by Barca's myriad problems on and off the pitch, he unsuccessfully attempted to trigger a termination clause in his contract.

Now that he can allow the club plenty of advance warning, it's difficult to envision Messi sticking around beyond the 2020-21 season. Barcelona's domestic performances have been erratic, and the club is staring down the barrel of a brutal financial outlook.

Messi is bound to create some space between himself and Pele in the all-time goalscoring chart. This time next season, however, he might be starting all over at a new club.

Paris Saint-Germain are reportedly "exploring the possibility" of trying to complete a transfer for Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi during next summer's transfer window.

ESPN's Julien Laurens reported Friday that PSG have retained interest in Messi since being one of the clubs to explore a deal in the summer before he ultimately remained at the Camp Nou. 

Manchester City led the pursuit to land Messi following the 2019-20 season, but the Parisians were also involved in discussions, per Laurens. A dispute between the six-time Ballon d'Or winner and Barcelona about a release clause in his contract brought a halt to the negotiations, though.

In September, Messi explained to Goal's Ruben Uria that Barca held firm on their belief he needed to inform them about his intentions to leave before June 10, even though the campaign ended late because of the coronavirus pandemic and led to a later transfer window.

"And this is the reason why I am going to continue in the club," he said. "Now I am going to continue in the club because the president told me that the only way to leave was to pay the €700 million clause, and that this is impossible."

Paying that release clause along with Messi's wage demands, which Laurens noted checks in at €60 million annually at Barcelona, just wasn't a realistic option, even for Europe's top clubs.

Barca acting president Carles Tusquets said Thursday on Catalan radio station RAC1 (via ESPN's Adriana Garcia) it would have been better for the club's economics to move Messi.

"Speaking from a financial standpoint, yes," he said. "But that is something that would have had to have been absolutely agreed with the coaching staff. From an economic standpoint, it would have been desirable to sell Messi."

Tusquests added the club would "consider" a move for the longtime face of the club in the future because of the pandemic's "worrying" impact on the club's finances.

Meanwhile, PSG star Neymar, who spent four years at the Camp Nou alongside Messi, has spoken openly about a potential reunion at the Parc des Princes.

"What I want most of all is to play with Messi again, to be able to enjoy him once again on the pitch," Neymar told ESPN's Sam Marsden on Wednesday. "He can play in my place, I have no problem with that! But I want to play with him next year, for sure. We have to do it next season."

Messi's contract expires next summer, which will remove a hurdle should PSG make a serious push to sign him.

They figure to face plenty of competition for Argentine international, who's still one of the world's best players at age 33.

Barcelona acting president Carles Tusquets said Thursday the club could have improved its financial outlook by allowing a Lionel Messi transfer over the summer.

Messi requested the opportunity to seek a free transfer following the 2019-20 season, but a dispute about whether a clause allowing it could be triggered based on the delayed finished to the term because of the coronavirus pandemic led him to remain at Camp Nou.

"And this is the reason why I am going to continue in the club," Messi told Goal's Ruben Uria in September. "Now I am going to continue in the club because the president told me that the only way to leave was to pay the €700 million clause, and that this is impossible."

Tusquets explained on Catalan radio station RAC1 (h/t ESPN's Adriana Garcia) it wasn't the best financial move by Barca, but he noted there are other factors in play with a superstar player.

"Speaking from a financial standpoint, yes [Messi could have been released in the summer]. But that is something that would have had to have been absolutely agreed with the coaching staff," he said. "From an economic standpoint, it would have been desirable to sell Messi."

Tusquets, who confirmed Barcelona would "consider" a Messi transfer moving forward, said the pandemic has left the club in a "worrying" financial state.

"It's dreadful, but there's hope. Once the stadium reopens, everything will change," he said.

Messi, a six-time Ballon d'Or winner, has continued to play at an elite level for the Blaugrana after the failed transfer effort. He's scored four goals in nine La Liga matches and tallied three goals and two assists in three Champions League appearances so far this season.

Barcelona is back in action Saturday when it visits Estadio Ramon de Carranza to face Cadiz in league play.  

Atletico Madrid star Luis Suarez tested positive for COVID-19 while on duty for the Uruguay national team.

"The Uruguayan football association AUF) reports that swab tests have been performed on all members of the National Team, and the players Luis Suarez and Rodrigo Munoz and team official Matias Faral have tested positive for COVID-19, while the other members of the party have tested negative," the federation said in a statement (via ESPN FC's Alex Kirkland). 

"The three are all in good health and the pertinent measures have been implemented."

Uruguay beat Colombia 3-0 last Friday in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier. Suarez scored the country's second goal from the penalty spot in the 54th minute. His positive test rules him out for Tuesday's qualifier against Brazil. Uruguay aren't in action again until March.

Suarez will likely also miss a pair of important fixtures for Atletico. Los Colchoneros play Barcelona on Saturday in La Liga and resume Champions League play Nov. 25 against Lokomotiv Moscow. Only two points separate second-place Atletico from third-place Lokomotiv in Group A.

Atletico signed Suarez in September shortly after loaning Alvaro Morata out to Juventus. The 33-year-old is already an integral member of the club's attack. He has scored five times in six La Liga matches.

His absence will put even more pressure on Joao Felix, whose seven goals across all competitions are highest on the team.