Stoke City

Finally, an answer to the age-old question.

Sky Sports' Spanish football expert Guillem Balague has revealed that he has asked Lionel Messi if he could replicate his world-beating performances in La Liga and the Champions League "on a cold, wet, Wednesday night in Stoke."

And sure enough, Messi backs himself to perform at the famously tricky Britannia Stadium.

"I asked Messi about that," Balague revealed in an interview with Stoke City star Bojan Krkic for Sky Sports (via the Sentinel). "He said, 'Those people that say that should realise I played in awful conditions in Rosario when I was 11 years old, with glass on the pitch, with holes and everything,' … And he also played good."

Ex-Barca star Bojan has thrived since joining Stoke from Ajax in 2014, and he has no doubts that his former team-mate could reproduce his success.

"Messi can do it!" he told Balague. "I understand that teams don't like to come to the Britannia Stadium, especially in winter with the wind, the cold … and we're a strong team. It's not easy. But I try to enjoy it and I try to improve my football in that situation."

Messi to Stoke City, anyone?

[h/t Sky Sports, the Sentinel]

Xherdan Shaqiri has revealed Inter Milan boss Roberto Mancini had some rather unusual methods for treating injured players.

Stoke City winger Shaqiri is enjoying a renaissance at the Britannia Stadium after a disappointing stint at Inter, typified by the unusual healing treatment he received.

"I drove for half an hour in a car to have been manipulated by an old man, but he did not help me at all," Shaqiri told Swiss newspaper Blick (via the Sun).

The Switzerland international is enjoying himself considerably more in England, where he opened his Premier League account with two goals in Stoke's 4-3 win over Everton on December 28.

"Stoke City was the best choice. Here there are seven physiotherapists, who will examine me everyday: hips, feet, legs. Everything in a professional manner."

That's more like it.

[h/t the Sun]

Stoke currently find themselves seven points off the pace of UEFA Champions League qualification, but one statistic suggests the Potters have an extremely high calibre on the European stage.

The good folks at the Mirror tell us that Stoke now have more Champions League winners on their books than Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal combined.

Mark Hughes' side currently boast five players with European Cup medals: Marko Arnautovic (Internazionale, 2010), Ibrahim Afellay (Barcelona, 2011), Bojan Krkic (Barcelona, 2009 and 2011), Marc Muniesa (Barcelona, 2009) and Xherdan Shaqiri (Bayern Munich, 2013).

By contrast, Liverpool, Man City and Arsenal can only offer one winner each: Daniel Sturridge, Yaya Toure and Petr Cech. 

If we needed another metric for the increasing parity within the Premier League, this is it. 

[Mirror]

Thanks in part to the generosity of Stoke City goalkeeper Jack Butland, the Great Britain deaf women's football team will be taking part in the 2016 Deaf World Cup.

A crowdfunding campaign was set up by Great Britain Deaf Football, and Butland's £5,000 donation helped it reach its goal of £10,000.

Butland responded on Twitter by saying he wanted the team to have similar experiences to those he has had at major tournaments with England.

He has been a part of the England camp since 2012 and has made just three starts, but he is starting to put pressure on incumbent Joe Hart thanks to some impressive performances with the Potters.

The 2016 Deaf World Cup takes place between June 19 and July 2 in Italy.

[Twitter]

Leicester City may be flying high atop the Premier League on Christmas Day, but it doesn't quite compare to the literal heights of Stoke City on the 25th of December. 

After a Twitter campaign by rabid Stoke fan Andrew Rushton (@jollyhappybore on Twitter) to get a Stoke flag into space, British astronaut Tim Peake shared a picture on Christmas from space of the fan's handiwork. 

Naturally, the gesture had the fan rather chuffed and his Twitter timeline active as a result: 

He won't forget his Christmas in 2015, that's for sure. 

[Twitter, Tim Peake, h/t Mirror] 

Stoke City defender Ryan Shawcross has been rewarded with a year's supply of deodorant following his clash with Chelsea striker Diego Costa on Saturday.

The maverick forward appeared to suggest Shawcross had a body-odour problem after an altercation during Stoke's 1-0 win at the Britannia Stadium, with the defender's wife, Kath, later taking to Twitter to post a picture of her husband posing with a can of Dove deodorant.

Made sure @Ryanshawy put his deodorant on this evening 🙈🙈🙈 pic.twitter.com/AyJfMi6BmG

— Kath Shawcross (@kathbuckley) November 7, 2015

And the personal care brand have responded by making sure Shawcross is well supplied for the next year. Problem solved!

[Twitter: @stokecity] 

Stoke City's Ibrahim Afellay has seen his three-match suspension reduced to two games after the Potters appealed following his red card against West Bromwich Albion.

Stoke confirmed the news on their official website on Wednesday.

The winger was sent off for raising his hand toward Craig Gardner's face—although the contact appeared to be fairly minimal.

As the Sentinel's Pete Smith noted, Gardner seemed to exaggerate his reaction to Afellay's slap.

BBC Sport's Tom Rostance was confused by the ruling:

However, the FA released the following statement on Twitter:

A claim by Stoke City that the standard punishment for the red card for Ibrahim Afellay was excessive has been upheld following an Independent Regulatory Commission hearing. Afellay was sent off for violent conduct against West Bromwich Albion on 29 August 2015. His suspension has been reduced from three matches to two matches with immediate effect.

The statement clarified that Stoke were appealing the excessiveness of the punishment, rather than the offence itself.

Afellay will still miss two important games against Arsenal and Leicester City, but he will return to play Bournemouth on September 26—unlike team-mate Charlie Adam, who will still be banned for three matches following his sending off in the same match, as Stoke confirmed in their report.

The Dutchman will be a significant blow to the Potters' chances against the Gunners and the in-form Leicester, but his return should give his side a timely boost ahead of the potentially tricky match with the Cherries.

Tony Pulis' return to the Britannia Stadium has been overshadowed by his old team picking up two red cards in the first half. Stoke City went down to nine men against Pulis' West Bromwich Albion when Ibrahim Afellay and Charlie Adam were both given their marching orders in a five-minute spell during the first half.

Stoke's official Twitter feed detailed both incidents:

The Sentinel's Pete Smith was less than impressed about Afellay's dismissal. He felt West Brom midfielder Craig Gardner milked the situation:

Smith continued to describe what he saw as an injustice:

Adam's red card was also controversial. The Scotsman appeared to stamp on Baggies defender Craig Dawson.

Yet Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday's Alan McInally was unconvinced by the decision:

Insult was added to perceived injury when Salomon Rondon gave the Baggies a 1-0 half-time lead, per Smith. 

Liverpool are back at the Britannia Stadium to face Stoke City less than three months on from their infamous 6-1 defeat, hoping to get their 2015-16 season off to a perfect start.

Brendan Rodgers’ side can make an emphatic statement about the progress they’ve made this summer with a strong showing against the Potters. But after conducting some astute business themselves in the offseason, Mark Hughes and his team will fancy their chances of picking up three points, albeit not in quite as spectacular style as the last time.

The Reds have named the following XI to get their season underway, per the club’s official Twitter feed:

Here’s the Stoke team that’ll kick off their campaign, per their official account:

For much of this Liverpool squad, the wounds created by that hammering at the hands of the Potters will still be raw. Expect both teams to come out firing.

Former Barcelona winger Ibrahim Afellay has joined Stoke City on a two-year deal following the June expiration of his contract at the Camp Nou.   

A product of the PSV Eindhoven youth system, Dutchman Afellay failed to nail down a first-team spot at Barca and was released by the La Liga giants earlier this summer after four-and-a-half years with the club.

He has spent time on loan at Olympiacos and Schalke in recent seasons but was confirmed as Stoke's latest signing on Monday.

The 29-year-old Afellay's arrival at the Britannia Stadium will no doubt excite Stoke fans enormously as he could provide flair not usually associated with the Potters, per uMAXit Football:

However, his arrival continues a trend at Stoke started by manager Mark Hughes of bringing in exciting attacking talents—Marko Arnautovic arrived in 2013 and Bojan Krkic last summer.

Afellay can provide great penetration going forward, as well as excellent distribution. Having failed in their ambitious attempts to sign Inter Milan's Xherdan Shaqiri earlier this summer, per the Guardian, Afellay is a fine alternative option for Stoke. 

The Potters finished the 2014-15 season with their highest-ever points tally in the Premier League—54—and closed the term with a 6-1 final-day drubbing of Liverpool.

Afellay's arrival signals Stoke's intent to be even better in the upcoming season, as he is a La Liga and Champions League winner and four-time Eredivisie champion.

The Dutch international has had troubles with injuries over his career, but if he can stay fit, he could be a very shrewd signing from the Potters.