Lionel Messi – www.israelhayom.com https://www.israelhayom.com israelhayom english website Tue, 25 Feb 2025 09:32:02 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.2 https://www.israelhayom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/cropped-G_rTskDu_400x400-32x32.jpg Lionel Messi – www.israelhayom.com https://www.israelhayom.com 32 32 All the details behind Messi's possible return to Barcelona https://www.israelhayom.com/2025/02/25/all-the-details-behind-messis-possible-return-to-barcelona/ https://www.israelhayom.com/2025/02/25/all-the-details-behind-messis-possible-return-to-barcelona/#respond Tue, 25 Feb 2025 04:00:03 +0000 https://www.israelhayom.com/?p=1038529 Alex Cardel, who was the first to report Lionel Messi's move from Paris Saint-Germain to Inter Miami, has once again sent shockwaves through the football world by revealing that the Argentine superstar is aiming for a return to Barcelona, where he wants to play at the newly renovated Camp Nou. Lionel Messi has just entered […]

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Alex Cardel, who was the first to report Lionel Messi's move from Paris Saint-Germain to Inter Miami, has once again sent shockwaves through the football world by revealing that the Argentine superstar is aiming for a return to Barcelona, where he wants to play at the newly renovated Camp Nou.

Lionel Messi has just entered the final year of his contract with Inter Miami, with whom he is set to compete in the Club World Cup this summer. Recently, reports in Spain and Argentina have suggested that a return to Catalonia after retirement is a real possibility, especially after David Beckham himself stated that Messi's future will continue in eastern Spain.

Lionel Messi in Barcelona. Photo: Reuters

The 37-year-old Argentine signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Inter Miami in July 2023. A month ago, Spain's Marca reported that Inter Miami would be willing to let him play for Barcelona during the American off-season in exchange for extending his contract for another year. This arrangement would allow him to maintain consistent match fitness ahead of the 2026 World Cup, set to be held in the United States.

Messi has repeatedly stated his desire to return to Barcelona one day. However, before last summer's Copa América, he declared in an interview that Inter Miami would be the final club of his career. Over the years, Messi's statements regarding his future have often changed, he previously retired twice from Argentina's national team before reversing his decision. Still, a return to Barcelona could serve as a fitting and emotional conclusion to his legendary career, even if his role at the club would no longer be as central as it once was.

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Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo? Jose Mourinho picks the best player "in our generation" https://www.israelhayom.com/2024/06/16/lionel-messi-or-cristiano-ronaldo-jose-mourinho-picks-the-best-player-in-our-generation/ https://www.israelhayom.com/2024/06/16/lionel-messi-or-cristiano-ronaldo-jose-mourinho-picks-the-best-player-in-our-generation/#respond Sun, 16 Jun 2024 07:44:22 +0000 https://www.israelhayom.com/?p=964527   In an interview with TNT Sports, Jose Mourinho, also known as 'The Special One,' answered a question constantly on soccer fans' minds. Asked which player he would have liked to sign, Mourinho picked "the little guy [Lionel Messi]". "In our generation, he was the best," he said. Mourinho also described the Argentinian national as […]

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In an interview with TNT Sports, Jose Mourinho, also known as 'The Special One,' answered a question constantly on soccer fans' minds. Asked which player he would have liked to sign, Mourinho picked "the little guy [Lionel Messi]". "In our generation, he was the best," he said.

Mourinho also described the Argentinian national as "uncoachable."

Mourinho coached Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid from 2010 to 2013. Despite their strained relationship due to tactical disagreements, Mourinho later praised Ronaldo in 2018, calling him one of the best players of all time.

As a soccer coach, Mourinho won three Premier League titles, an FA Cup, and three League Cups at Chelsea, a La Liga title and Copa del Rey with Real Madrid, a continental treble with Inter Milan, and a Champions League title with Porto. He achieved success at Manchester United, winning the League Cup, Europa League, and three trophies during his tenure. He managed 1135 games and secured 703 wins throughout his career.

Mourinho praised Roma fans for being the most loyal in his career, mentioning Old Trafford, Bernabeu, and San Siro as iconic stadiums but highlighting Roma fans for their loyalty despite not always winning. He also considers San Siro the greatest stadium in the world.

He managed and worked with several super famous players, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Eden Hazard. He struggled to choose the best player he worked with but named Cristiano Ronaldo, whom he managed at Real Madrid, as one of his favorites, along with Terry, Lampard, Drogba, and Xabi Alonso.

Mourinho admitted that losing at Liverpool in the semi-finals of the 2004/05 Champions League with Chelsea still bothers him, specifically mentioning the controversial goal scored by Luis Garcia in that tie as a moment that still plays on his mind.

Fans had mixed reactions to Mourinho's admission about Messi, with some mocking Ronaldo and feeling that Mourinho has lost his credibility, while others acknowledged that Mourinho has praised both Messi and Ronaldo in the past.

Messi confirmed Inter Miami will be his last club but is not ready to retire yet.

Sources: dailypost.ng, globeecho.com, pulsesports.ng, sportskeeda.com, givemesport.com, sportsbrief.com, elfutbolero.us, dailymail.co.uk, mundoalbiceleste.com, forbes.com, sports.yahoo.com, elanhub.net, theclevelandamerican.com, naijanews.com, com.pk, talksport.com, clutchpoints.com, akhbarkora.com, firstsportz.com, unitedinfocus.com, worldsoccertalk.com, romapress.net, football-addict.com, and rousingthekop.com.

This article was written in collaboration with Generative AI news company Alchemiq.

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Lionel Messi in Israel despite rockets and boycott threats https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/11/18/lionel-messi-in-israel-despite-rockets-and-boycott-threats/ https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/11/18/lionel-messi-in-israel-despite-rockets-and-boycott-threats/#respond Mon, 18 Nov 2019 06:25:40 +0000 https://www.israelhayom.com/?p=435633 Soccer superstar Lionel Messi finally arrived in sports-crazed Israel on Sunday, after a Palestinian protest campaign derailed his previous visit and the latest round of cross-border fighting in Gaza threatened to scare him off once again. Messi and his Argentine teammates are in the Holy Land to play an international friendly against his Barcelona teammate […]

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Soccer superstar Lionel Messi finally arrived in sports-crazed Israel on Sunday, after a Palestinian protest campaign derailed his previous visit and the latest round of cross-border fighting in Gaza threatened to scare him off once again.

Messi and his Argentine teammates are in the Holy Land to play an international friendly against his Barcelona teammate Luis Suarez and the Uruguay national team. It's a game that has been just as eagerly anticipated for its political ramifications as it has for its sporting star power.

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Suarez and his teammates arrived on Saturday after a friendly match in Hungary while Messi touched down Sunday after a direct flight from Saudi Arabia, where Argentina beat Brazil 1-0 in another friendly.

A year ago, Argentina abruptly canceled a World Cup warmup match in Jerusalem, saying it was concerned for the safety of its players. The decision followed protests in the West Bank and other countries amid outrage that Messi would play in Israel. Those demonstrations included threats to burn Messi jerseys and brandished images of the Argentina national team's jersey stained with red paint resembling blood. As a result, the FIFA soccer governing body banned Palestinian soccer federation president Jibril Rajoub for a year for "inciting hatred and violence" against Messi.

Monday's match was nearly nixed as well after last week's two-day eruption of violence following Israel's targeted assassination of a Palestinian terrorist leader in Gaza. Palestinian Islamic Jihad responded by firing hundreds of rockets into Israel, setting off warning sirens as far north as Tel Aviv – the site of Monday's match.

Both Argentina and Uruguay were reportedly on the verge of calling off their participation.

But they eventually decided to play following intense, high-profile negotiations with Sylvan Adams, a Canadian-Israeli billionaire who's responsible for staging the match in Israel.

The Palestinian BDS group PACBI condemned Monday's match, accusing Argentina and Uruguay of crossing the "Palestinian nonviolent picket line, allowing Israel to use the beautiful game to sports-wash its crimes against Palestinians."

Adams, who describes himself as a "self-appointed ambassador-at-large" for Israel, told The Associated Press that he's looking to counter the country's image, and has sponsored previous sporting and cultural events in the country. Last year, he brought the opening stages of the Giro d'Italia cycling race to Israel, and this year he paid more than $1 million for Madonna to perform at the Eurovision song contest in Tel Aviv, overcoming pro-Palestinian calls to boycott the events.

The BDS movement, advocating for boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel, notched one of its greatest achievements to date by helping pressure Messi and Argentina out of last year's match.

A spooked Argentine squad bolted at the last moment, even after direct a plea from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Argentina's President Mauricio Macri asked them to reconsider.

Culture and Sports Minister Miri Regev was widely criticized for politicizing the event by insisting it be played in Jerusalem and by trying to orchestrate a photo-op with Messi.

Argentina is among the most popular brands in Israel and Messi, a six-time FIFA player of the year, is an icon in the country as well. But the disappointment over the cancellation led many Israelis to root against him in the World Cup and rejoice in Argentina's early exit.

This week's match was promoted with far less fanfare, and yet Middle East politics played a role once again with the deadliest round of violence in Gaza in years.

Match organizers were in constant touch with the teams throughout the fighting. Even after an informal cease-fire was reached on Thursday, the game remained in question. But with Uruguay's head coach already in Tel Aviv, and Israeli soccer players and officials lobbying their South American colleagues, it was salvaged.

For Messi, this will be his second match after returning from a three-month ban imposed by South American soccer body CONMEBOL after he made accusations of corruption following the Copa America tournament in Brazil in July.

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