Messi
Doubles from Lionel Messi and Lautaro Martinez earned Argentina a 4-1 victory against Guatemala in their final Copa America warm-up on Friday.
Lionel Messi said he will not be part of Argentina's squad for the Paris Olympics as he is no longer at an age where he can play in every tournament.
Messi, who played for 17 years at Barcelona before signing for Paris St Germain in 2021 and Inter Miami last year, will turn 37 in under three months but knows for sure that his age will not determine when it is time to hang up his boots.
Auction house Sotheby's said the price for the set of shirts shattered the previous record for the sale of an item associated with the player, making it the most valuable sporting memorabilia auctioned this year.
Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland are the three finalists for the FIFA 2023 Best Men's Player award, world soccer's governing body said on Thursday.
Argentina captain Lionel Messi is not thinking about his international future beyond next year's Copa America, where he will try to lead the country to a second successive continental title at the tournament in the United States.
Brazil striker Rodrygo said he had received racist messages on social media accounts following an argument with Argentina captain Lionel Messi before the teams' World Cup qualifier on Tuesday.
Brazil lost their second consecutive World Cup qualifier match as Colombia fought back to win 2-1 against the five-times champions, who dropped to fifth place in the South American standings on Thursday.
Lionel Messi will be fit for Argentina's World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Brazil despite his lack of game time, coach Lionel Scaloni said on Wednesday.
"For him, one more training session is important and I will talk to him to decide whether he plays or not, but I have to talk to him first and above all I have to be sure that he can start," Scaloni told reporters.
Messi was replaced by Robert Taylor in the 37th minute with the score tied at 0-0, taking off the captain's armband and handing it to DeAndre Yedlin.
Captain Messi, however, continued the fine form he is showing with club side Inter Miami by scoring from a free kick after 77 minutes.
The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner has been a terror from his first game scoring nine goals in six matches powering Miami into the Leagues Cup final on Saturday where they will face Nashville SC.
Philadelphia, who made the MLS Cup final last year and have a dominant record at home, were poised to be Miami's biggest test since the latter added the Argentinean striker to their roster last month.
Messi scored in his third consecutive match for Inter in a 3-1 victory over Orlando City last week, helping them move into the last 16 of the tournament.
The performance titled 'Messi10', after his favored jersey number, showcases the rise of the striker from his early childhood in Rosario to his iconic moment as world champion.
Kickoff was delayed by 95 minutes because of a thunderstorm, but once the match got under way, Messi took little time to settle down and opened the scoring in the seventh minute.
Messi drew a foul about 25 yards from goal in the dying seconds and stepped up to deliver what everyone came to see as his free kick sailed into the top left corner and sent the crowd into delirium.
"I didn't even know whether Messi was in the group chat yet, but he popped up straightway and said, 'How many do you need though?' Straightaway like that.
"This happens to us even on a personal level; sometimes we associate the United States, Miami, holidays - this isn't that." he added. "We want to compete... they are not footballers who are going to come here to not compete."
