Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has played down his side’s prospects of making a late challenge for the La Liga title. The Capital outfit currently trail Barcelona by nine points in the standings but Simeone has already admitted defeat after another Lionel Messi master class at Sevilla last weekend.

Barcelona were on course to suffer their first league defeat of the season after trailing Sevilla 2-0 during the second period, but they somehow managed to turn their fortunes around. The Catalan giants scored two late goals in the space of just 53 seconds, and the latter came from the feet of Argentina superstar Messi, who shocked the Andalusian faithful. Continue reading →

Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi has suggested that he will retirement from international football, if Argentine fail to lift this summer’s World Cup in Russia. The 30-year-old has never won a major international trophy with his country, and this has created a difficult relationship between him and the country’s faithful.

In an interview with Argentine news show La Cornisa, Messi has claimed that he is ready to ‘give up’ on the national team for good, if they fail to secure their first World Cup since 1986, he said: “We feel that, if we won’t win the World Cup in Russia, the only way will be to give up the national team. I dream of winning the trophy in Russia. My wish is to live something similar to Brazil 2014. You can do everything OK and fail, like Argentina in Brazil. I dream of winning the trophy in Russia. My wish is to live something similar to Brazil 2014. You can do everything OK and fail, like Argentina in Brazil.” Continue reading →