Yes.

Lionel Messi shocked a reporter by revealing that he had not only kept a good luck charm the reporter had given him, but that he had worn it during Argentina’s 2-1 win over Nigeria, which allowed Argentina to advance out of the group stage of the World Cup.

The stage was all set up for Argentina, until now (and probably still) the single biggest frauds in a tournament defined by fraudhood, to succumb to their misery and die the death they seemed destined for. Somehow, they fought to live another day.

I wonder how it feels to be Lionel Messi right now, knowing that he’s finally come to the end.

Argentina came into their second group-stage game against Croatia today needing to bounce back from a frustrating, leaden 1-1 draw with Iceland. Instead, they got run off the pitch by a determined Croatia side, who spanked them 3-0 thanks to two horrifying defensive errors and one moment of world-class precision from…

Real Madrid and Portugal striker Cristiano Ronaldo has reportedly settled his tax fraud charges with Spanish authorities, agreeing to pay $21.7 million, or approximately €18.7 million, to stay out of prison and receive only a suspended two-year sentence. Ronaldo’s achievement breaks the tax evasion mark set by his…

People really don’t realize how much of a miracle it would be if Argentina won the World Cup.

Lionel Messi and Argentina were scheduled to play their final pre–World Cup warm-up match on Saturday against Israel in Jerusalem, but the game was canceled late last night. Tensions escalated after Israeli authorities decided to move the game from Haifa to Jerusalem in order to, per Israeli Sports Minister Miri…

Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Lionel Messi. It’s an argument as old as time itself, with diehard fans of these two all-time greats throwing out stats and facts in support of their preferred candidate to make their case for superiority—Messianiacs pointing to his better scoring record, his better passing, his better dribbling…

Lionel Messi came on as a substitute in the 58th minute of Barcelona’s match against Sevilla on Saturday with express orders not to run around too much. He obeyed, meandered around for the better part of his 30-minute cameo, before picking his moment and bursting forth from out of nowhere to score the game-tying goal…

Just a couple of months before June’s World Cup begins, a next-generation Spain squad incinerated a mostly full-strength Argentina in Madrid today, riding an Isco hat trick to a 6-1 laugher. It’s only a friendly, but still, it wasn’t good, and Argentina star Lionel Messi, missing the game with a hamstring injury,…

You probably aren’t familiar with Thomas Rongen, and we really wish we didn’t feel compelled to inform you of his existence. But when a gaping asshole like this has somehow amassed real, serious power at the highest levels of U.S. Soccer, and demonstrates his gross incompetence for his position in the most baffling…

We’ll probably never know whether or not Lionel Messi really could do it on cold, wet nights in Stoke, but today we’ve been given even more evidence that he is pretty good at doing it on early spring nights in and against teams from elsewhere around England.

It helps to take a step back now, after Barcelona have all but assured themselves yet another league title by beating second-place Atlético Madrid at home yesterday, to accurately appreciate the enormity of the situation and the incomparable superiority of Lionel Messi.

Lionel Messi is so incomprehensibly great because he has an almost unlimited arsenal of match-deciding, soul-snatching, title-winning skills and attributes—so many, in fact, that some of them threaten to go under-appreciated. Perfect example: some of his deceptively simple but actually staggeringly effective moves in…

“It’s spectacular to watch him every day. He is the best player there is and the best there will ever be,” said first-year Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde yesterday after witnessing yet another breathtaking display of excellence by Lionel Messi in his team’s 5-0 victory over Real Betis. Messi scored twice, assisted…

In a metaphorical sense, Barcelona are almost always playing above their competition. But today against Levante, Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba combined for some play that was literally untouchable. Their give-and-go was almost as suited to volleyball as it was to a soccer pitch, and it was good for Messi’s 365th La Liga…

Tonight couldn’t have started any worse for Argentina. On the outside looking in at the beginning of the final day of World Cup qualification, they needed a win in Ecuador to at least keep their hopes alive. But within the first minute, the home side delivered a stunning blow, taking a very quick, potentially…

It’s a funny thing, talking about what an athlete deserves. Sports are the ultimate results-oriented business, where no matter how much you love your mother or how kind and considerate you are to lovers and waiters or even how well you played in any given game, if the final whistle blows and you look up at the…