Lionel Messi Named Best FIFA Men’s Player

Lionel Messi is this year’s Best

The 35-year-old Argentine professional footballer was named Best FIFA Men’s Player at a ceremony in Paris on Monday, beating Paris Saint-Germain teammate Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid‘s Karim Benzema.

Lionel MessiMessi won the 2022 World Cup with Argentina in December — the country’s first in 36 years — ending his wait for the only major honor to have eluded him in his career.

“It’s amazing. It was a tremendous year and it is an honor for me to be here tonight and win this award,” said Messi, who sat next to Mbappe throughout the ceremony at the Salle Pleyel.

Monday’s award was Messi’s second FIFA The Best title, his first coming in 2019. He has also won a record seven Ballon d’Or awards.

“I want to express my thanks to [coach Lionel] Scaloni and my teammates; without them I would not be here,” Messi added. “I achieved a dream I had been hoping for so long and finally I achieved it. It’s a dream for any player; very few people can achieve that and I was lucky enough to do so.”

Messi scored seven goals at the World Cup in Qatar — including a brace in the thrilling 3-3 final victory on penalties — finishing one behind Golden Boot winner Mbappe.

Messi has scored 16 goals in 27 games in all competitions this season, as well as registering 14 assists, as he chases his second Ligue 1 title in two years at PSG.

Barcelona’s Alexia Putellas won the Best FIFA Women’s award for the second year running, while Argentina’s Scaloni and Emiliano Martinez got the honors for top men’s coach and goalkeeper, respectively.

Chelsea FC Sign Enzo Fernandez from Benfica for Record €121 million

Enzo Fernandez is celebrating a record deal…

Chelsea FC has signed the 22-year-old Argentine professional footballer from Benfica after meeting the midfielder’s €121 million (£106.8m) release clause, the Portuguese side announced on Tuesday.

Enzo FernandezA statement from Benfica confirmed that a deal had been reached between the clubs over how Chelsea would pay the release fee for Fernandez, who has signed an eight-and-a-half year contract.

The deal breaks the previous Premier League record fee of £100m that Manchester City paid for Jack Grealish when he joined from Aston Villa in 2021.

 

Chelsea were still to confirm the deal, but according to reports in England the paperwork had been submitted on time and before the transfer deadline at 2300 GMT on Tuesday.

Fernandez impressed for Argentina as they won the 2022 World Cup and was named the Young Player of the Tournament.

ESPN reported on Monday that Fernandez had already agreed personal terms with Chelsea and was pushing the Portuguese club hard to reach an agreement with the Blues.

He becomes Chelsea’s seventh signing of a busy January transfer window, following Benoit BadiashileDavid Datro FofanaAndrey SantosMykhailo MudrykNoni Madueke and Malo Gusto into the club.

Benfica boss Roger Schmidt was not keen on seeing Fernandez leave, but had previously said their hands would be tied if a club paid the player’s release clause.

Fernandez moved from Argentine side River Plate to Benfica in 2022 and has played 29 times in all competitions, scoring four goals and grabbing seven assists.

The deal takes Chelsea’s total outlay on players since last year’s takeover by an investment group led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital to more than £500m.

Chelsea are 10th in the Premier League, 10 points adrift of a top-four spot. They next host local rivals Fulham on Friday.

Argentina’s Emiliano Martinez Wins Golden Glove at FIFA World Cup

Emiliano Martinez is having a golden moment…

The 30-year-old Argentine goalkeeper has been awarded the Golden Glove trophy following this year’s FIFA World Cup.

Emiliano Martinez, Martinez earned the prize, which is given to the most outstanding goalkeeper of the tournament, after Argentina won the shootout 4-2, to win the World Cup title at Lusail Stadium in Qatar.

Martinez became the first player to represent Argentina to win the Golden Glove. He was joined at the trophy ceremony by teammate Lionel Messi, who won the Golden Ball, as well as Enzo Fernandez, the winner of the Best Young Player award.

Emiliano Martinez,Martinez played a key role in Argentina’s dramatic final to win the country’s first world championship in 36 years.

The Aston Villa goalie, who had three clean sheets in the tournament, carried his team through extra time and a penalty shootout following a 2-2 tie in regulation. He brilliantly denied France’s Kingsley Coman with a diving left save in the performance.

After Argentina’s historic win, an emotional Martinez said, “We suffered a lot. We thought we were in control but they managed to come back. It was a very complicated game. Our destiny was to suffer. They had one last chance to win, luckily I was able to stop it with my foot.

“This is a moment I’ve always dreamed of living, I have no words for it. I left very young for England and I would like to dedicate this victory to my family.”

Martinez has been the goalkeeper for Aston Villa since 2020.

Last year, he helped his country to its first Copa America trophy since 1991.

Ozuna to Perform at the 2022 FIFA World Cup Closing Ceremony

Ozuna is heading to Qatar…

The 30-year-old Puerto Rican singer will perform at the 2022 FIFA World Cup closing ceremony, FIFA has announced.

OzunaThe event, where Argentina and France will play for the trophy, will be held on Sunday, December 18, at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar.

Since August, Ozuna has been making the rounds with his track “Arhbo” alongside French-Congolese rapper Gims, which is part of the official FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 soundtrack.

The feel-good collaboration is named after the local slang word for “welcome” in Qatar, which “perfectly embodies the welcoming spirit” of the Arabian country that has been hosting the World Cup since November 20.

“Arhbo” hit No. 1 on the Billboard Latin Airplay chart dated December 17 after arriving in the top 10 last week. This marks Gims’ first No. 1 title on any U.S. chart.

“I think ‘Bienvenidos’, ‘welcome home’ says it all,” Ozuna previously said in a press statement. “Whatever journey everyone was on, it brought them here, to this moment, and for that moment they are home. They say that ‘home is where the heart is, right? El hogar está donde está el corazón. For all the people who are coming, and all the people who — with all their hearts — want to come, we are saying, ‘bienvenidos’, welcome home!”

Although Puerto Rico was not one of the 32 countries that played at the World Cup, Ozuna has been very much involved with the tournament.

In addition to being a part of the FIFA soundtrack, the “Hey Mor” singer teamed up with Coca-Cola Puerto Rico for limited-edition collectible cans, with 14 different designs representing some of the participating countries.

In addition, the initiative will promote the development of sports on the island by allocating a donation of $50,000 for the rehabilitation of soccer fields in San Juan.

Lionel Messi Becomes Argentina’s All-Time Leading World Cup Goal Scorer

Lionel Messi is in company all his own…

The 35-year-old Argentine futbol star has become Argentina‘s all-time leading goal scorer, after scoring a penalty in the first half of Tuesday’s 3-0 victory in the semifinal against Croatia at this year’s FIFA World Cup.

Lionel MessiMessi overtook Gabriel Batistuta‘s previous record of 10 goals, which he scored at the 1994, 1998 and 2002 World Cups.

Messi put Argentina ahead in the 34th minute from the penalty spot following a foul on Julian Alvarez by Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic.

Messi’s 11 goals also tie him for sixth for most goals in the history of the men’s World Cup, with Sandor Kocsis and Jürgen Klinsmann. Only Miroslav Klose (16), Brazil’s Ronaldo (15), Gerd Muller (14), Just Fontaine (13) and Pele (12) are now ahead of him.

He is the oldest man to score five goals at a single World Cup and level with France’s Kylian Mbappe in the race for the Golden Boot.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward’s opener in Argentina’s 2-1 win over Australia in the round of 16 meant he surpassed Diego Maradona and Guillermo Stabile‘s World Cup goal tally of eight.

He then equalled Batistuta’s mark of 10 when he scored from the penalty spot in his side’s fiery quarterfinal encounter with the Netherlands, which Argentina eventually won on penalties after a stirring Dutch fightback for a 2-2 draw.

In the match against Croatia, Messi also tied the record for most appearances at the World Cup when he played for the 25th time for Argentina at soccer’s biggest tournament.

Lothar Matthaus of Germany previously held the record outright. Messi is playing in his fifth World Cup and he will have a chance to break the record in Sunday’s final.

Messi’s first World Cup goal came on his debut in 2006, as he scored after being substituted on to help his side to a 6-0 victory over Serbia and Montenegro.

Four years later, Messi failed to score in the entirety of the World Cup tournament in South Africa as an Argentina side managed by Maradona reached the quarterfinals but lost 4-0 against Germany.

The forward enjoyed a more fruitful 2014 tournament, scoring four times in Argentina’s first three games as he helped them to the final — where they were again beaten by Germany.

Messi scored just once at the 2018 World Cup but has netted four times in his side’s five matches at the tournament in Qatar this year.

Messi is Argentina’s all-time top scorer with 94 goals in 169 appearances for the national team since making his debut in 2005. Batistuta scored 54 times in 78 matches for Argentina.

Julian Alvarez Scores Two Goals to Lead Argentina into the World Cup Final

Julian Alvarez pulled a double in Argentina’s win to help his team reach the World Cup final…

The 22-year-old Argentine professional futbolista scored twice and also set up Messi’s penalty-kick goal in Argentina’s commanding 3-0 win over Croatia to advance to the final. They will face the winner of Wednesday’s other semifinal between France and Morocco.

Julian Alvarez“We deserved this, we played a great match today,” Alvarez said after the game. “We’re at the final. We want it. … We are very happy with what we achieved, and we want more.”

In the 32nd minute, Alvarez made a darting run between Croatian center backs Dejan Lovren and Josko Gvardiol, and latched onto a defense-splitting pass over the top from 21-year-old midfielder Enzo Fernandez. As he attempted to chip it over Croatia’s Dominik Livakovic, the goalie fouled Alvarez and Argentina was awarded a penalty. Lionel Messi promptly converted for a 1-0 lead.

Alvarez then led the charge as Argentina blitzed the Croatians, suffocating their opponents as they looked for a second goal. In the 39th minute, Alvarez collected the ball inside his own half and dribbled unchallenged all the way into the Croatian box. After a brief deflection, the ball ricocheted back to Alvarez, who volleyed it past Livakovic for a 2-0 lead.

“It was a nice goal,” Alvarez told reporters after the match. “I don’t usually run with the ball a lot but the situation presented itself.”

For his second goal, Alvarez let Messi do all the hard work instead, tapping in Messi’s jaw-dropping individual run and assist. Messi spun defender Josko Gvardiol around before dribbling by him and squaring the ball for Alvarez, who was waiting for the pass in front of the goal.

Fernandez controlled the middle of the field, helping Argentina pin Croatia deep in its own half and continue to mount pressure on its defense. It’s the first World Cup for both Alvarez and Fernandez. Neither made their Argentinian debut before last year.

“The match from Julian was excellent, not only because he scored two goals, but because he helped our midfielders,” Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni said. ”He showcased an excellent game for his age.”

In his first season with English Premier League superpower Manchester City, Alvarez has scored three goals in three starts and 12 appearances. The club bought Alvarez last summer from Argentinian side Club River Plate for 14 million pounds, fending off stiff competition for the prized talent.

The goals marked Alvarez’s third and fourth of the tournament. He previously scored in Argentina’s wins over Poland and Australia as he muscled his way into the starting lineup over longtime mainstay Angel Di Maria.

“I said that boy is going to be a superstar,” Argentinian goalie Emiliano Martinez said. “And you can see that.”

Lionel Messi Helps Lead Argentina Into the World Cup Quarterfinals

Lionel Messi has helped propel Argentina into the World Cup quarterfinals… 

In his 1,000th career match, the 35-year-old Argentine professional footballer scored the opening goal with a sublime effort on Saturday before Julian Alvarez scored in the second half to secure a 2-1 victory against Australia.

Lionel Messi,The win sets up a quarterfinal against the Netherlands.

“I am very happy for taking another step forward, achieving another objective,” Messi said. “It was a very strong and difficult match — we knew it was going to be this way.

“We didn’t have much time to rest up and we were concerned as we knew it was going to be a physical match and they were very strong. Luckily we found the goal and we were one goal ahead, and then two goals ahead.

“And then we had a setback with the goal — but that’s the World Cup for you, the matches are difficult and we got the win.”

Despite Argentina’s firepower, Australia managed to limit the early proceedings, keeping them uneventful with neither side exerting any dominance.

But the Socceroos‘ defense was breached on 35 minutes as Messi showed his undeniable quality to score his first-ever goal in the World Cup knockout stage.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward started the move with a darting run inside from the right wing — a quick exchange of passes landed him inside the box before he unleashed a left-footed curling shot past Mat Ryan.

“He [Messi] is incredible. One of the greatest ever,” Australia boss Graham Arnold said. “We really worked hard not to be in awe of him, because of the great player he is.

“But wow, he’s remarkable. I had the privilege of playing against Diego Maradona, and now coaching against Messi — they’re both wonderful players and Argentina should be so proud and happy to have players of that calibre.”

Buoyed by rapturous support, Argentina tightened their grip on a quarterfinal spot 12 minutes after half-time as Rodrigo De Paul pounced on a slack touch by Australia goalkeeper Ryan, allowing Alvarez to slot into a vacated net, doubling his side’s lead.

A triple substitution for Australia on 72 minutes signified a desperate last roll of the dice by manager Arnold and they were handed a lifeline when an own goal by Enzo Fernandez halved their deficit 13 minutes from time.

Craig Goodwin latched onto a loose ball outside the box and struck a fierce effort first-time, which took a huge deflection off Fernandez, fooling goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and hitting the back of the net.

With renewed optimism, Aziz Behich came close to leveling the game three minutes later as he embarked on a fantastic darting run, beating four Argentina defenders before eventually being thwarted by Lisandro Martinez in the box.

Despite their desire, a comeback didn’t materialize for Australia and manager Arnold was full of praise for their impressive run in the tournament.

“They’re extremely disappointed — it’s not every day you get to play the third-best nation in the word and play those types of players,” he said.

“I felt we did a good job. I wanted to say how proud I am of them and the sacrifices they’ve made through the campaign. Everyone said before we came here we were the worst Socceroo team ever and to qualify for a World Cup — but that’s gone now — we’ve done exceptionally well.”

Julian Alvarez Scores First-Ever World Cup Goal to Help Lead Argentina into the Round of 16

It’s a special World Cup first for Julian Alvarez.

The 22-year-old Argentine professional footballer, nicknamed “La Araña,” scored his first FIFA World Cup goal on Wednesday during Argentina’s Group C 2-0 win against Poland.

Julian Alvarez, Alvarez and Alexis Mac Allister’s second-half goals at Stadium 974 in Qatar helped Argentina advance to the last 16.

Great news for the Argentina team, which was shocked by Saudi Arabia in their group opener, in their quest for a first World Cup title since 1986.

“It’s so emotional for me, for the whole squad. It’s a dream come true,” Mac Allister told reporters. “I debuted with this team, I’m so proud of that. And now managing to score in a World Cup. I’m so happy.

“[After Messi’s penalty miss] we tried to stay positive, to stay calm. We did not feel down. We tried to be optimistic. Fortunately we managed to win and go through.”

Despite being thoroughly outplayed through the 90 minutes, Poland also snuck into the knockout round in second place thanks to a superior goal difference over Mexico and will face Group D winners France on Sunday.

Argentina is set to face Australia on Saturday with a spot in the quarterfinals on the line.

Lionel Messi, meantime, was playing in his 22nd game at the World Cup — and 999th of his career for club and country — breaking a tie with Diego Maradona for the most by an Argentine in the world’s biggest tournament.

Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny saved a Messi penalty that was awarded by VAR as Argentina dominated the first 45 minutes but had nothing to show for it with the halftime score 0-0.

Szczesny had been kept busy the entire half with the Poland defence breached time and again, but the Juventus keeper stood firm to deny the Argentines who grew more confident with every attack.

He first denied Alvarez, who broke through the offside trap before he tipped Angel Di Maria‘s cross over the bar when his Juve teammate attempted to score directly from a corner kick.

The opener for Argentina came right after the restart when Brighton striker Mac Allister redirected a Nahuel Molina cross with a first-time shot that trickled past Szczesny and off the far post.

Manchester City teenager Alvarez announced himself on the world stage and doubled Argentina’s lead midway through the second half, picking up a pass from Enzo Fernandez in the penalty area and lashing a shot past Szczesny to all but secure the three points.

With Poland’s spot in the round of 16 looking like it could come down to a fair play (yellow and red card accumulation) tiebreaker with Mexico, Poland coach Czeslaw Michniewicz had instructed his players to avoid unnecessary bookings as the match wore on.

“I didn’t tell players to take their foot off the ball, but I did tell them to avoid silly bookings,” Michniewicz told a news conference. “We even talked about the yellow cards for those on the bench, because it was only before the match, after the meeting with the delegate, when we learned that cards awarded to players on the bench do not count for the fair play classification.

“We were afraid that one of the players would jump out, or the coach, and would get booked and therefore we might not advance further. But I also asked that we do not provoke, not pull their shirts, not argue with the referee.”

Gabriel Deck Leads Argentina Past the United States to Reach AmeriCup Finals

Gabriel Deck has helped Argentina take down the defending champions…

The 27-year-old Argentine professional basketball player scored 30 points to lead Argentina past the reigning champion USA Basketball team 82-73 in the AmeriCup semifinals.

Gabriel DeckNicolás Laprovittola added 18 points to help the Argentina team advance to the finals.

It was a rematch of the gold-medal game from the most recent AmeriCup tournament in 2017, a game in which the U.S. prevailed.

Not this time, not after Argentina outscored the Americans — a team composed of players who have been in the G League or on internationally based teams — 17-7 in the final 4:59.

“For sure, a lot of credit to Argentina and [coach Pablo Prigioni],” U.S. coach Alex Jensen said. “It’s a good team, veteran team, a lot of good players, a lot of different weapons and they did a great job in the end. We made our runs. They did a good job taking it up another notch and we lost our patience.”

Argentina will now play Brazil, who beat Canada in the other semifinal, on Sunday for the gold; Canada plays the U.S. earlier Sunday for bronze.

Norris Cole‘s layup with 5:12 left put the U.S. up 66-65, but that would be the last lead for the Americans.

“This is a good learning experience for our team,” Cole said. “And we’ll learn from it.”

Cole led the U.S. with 18 points and Zylan Cheatham added 10 for the Americans, who got to the line only 10 times — compared with 29 for Argentina.

Facundo Campazzo scored 10 for Argentina, which lost the 2017 AmeriCup final to the U.S. 81-76. Argentina led for 33 of the game’s 40 minutes.

Erik Lamela Wins FIFA’s Puskas Award

Erik Lamela is celebrating his award-winning rabona

The 29-year-old Argentine professional footballer, who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for La Liga club Sevilla and the Argentina national team, has won this year’s Puskas Award.

Erik Lamela

Lamela earned the award for his “rabona” for Tottenham Hotspur against Arsenal.

Meanwhile, Bayern Munich forward Robert Lewandowski equaled Cristiano Ronaldo‘s FIFA The Best record when he won the award for a second time on Monday.

The Bayern Munich forward retained his FIFA The Best award following an incredible campaign in which he scored a Bundesliga record 41 goals, fighting off competition from Lionel Messi and Mohamed Salah.

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel claimed the Manager of the Year award following success in the Champions League in 2021.

Chelsea and Senegal‘s Edouard Mendy won the Goalkeeper of the Year award.

Denmark team and staff won the Fair Play award following their reaction to Christian Eriksen‘s cardiac arrest at Euro 2020. Denmark and Finland fans also received the Best Fan award for their spontaneous unified chanting in support of Eriksen after he was taken off the pitch.

The award was first handed out in its present guise in 2016, after FIFA ended their five-year partnership with the Ballon d’Or. Ronaldo, who was given a special award for breaking the international men’s goal scoring record in 2021, won back-to-back awards in the first two years.

Meanwhile, Messi and part-Brazilian player Jorginho were named to the FIFA FIFPro Men’s World XI team.

FIFA FIFPro Men’s World XI
Gianluigi Donnarumma – Paris Saint-Germain, Italy
David Alaba – Real Madrid, Austria
Ruben Dias – Manchester City, Portugal
Leonardo Bonucci – Juventus, Italy
Jorginho – Chelsea, Italy
N’Golo Kante – Chelsea, France
Kevin De Bruyne – Manchester City, Belgium
Cristiano Ronaldo – Manchester United, Portugal
Erling Haaland – Borussia Dortmund, Norway
Robert Lewandowski – Bayern Munich, Poland
Lionel Messi – Paris Saint-Germain, Argentina

Barcelona midfielder Alexia Putellas won the women’s award.