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The FC Barcelona's forward surpassed the previous record of 251 goals held by Telmo Zarra since 1955. On Saturday evening, Leo Messi scored 3 goals against Sevilla at Camp Nou, giving him a total of 253 in only 289 Spanish league matches (0.87 per game). It's been almost a decade since Messi's first goal against Albacete in May 2005. His best year saw him get 50 targets in La Liga. Telmo Zarraonaindía played for Athletic Bilbao from 1940 to 1955, scoring 251 goals in 277 games (0.91 per game). Almost 60 years later, Messi has gone past him. The 27 year-old Leo Messi has now reached the summit, one season after surpassing the career marks of Hugo Sánchez (234), Raúl (228), Alfredo Di Stéfano (227), César (224) and Quini (219).

Late goals by Neymar and Alba erase 1-0 deficit and hand Barça the victory. Luis Suárez also decisive, chipping in with sublime assists on both goals. On a beautiful sunny afternoon in Andalusia, Almería took the field with tight man-to-man defence. Both sides exchanged possessions in the opening minutes until Leo Messi and Munir El Haddadi led a Barça counterattack, stemming from an Almería corner kick, each having a shot blocked in a scramble right in front of the net. By the quarter hour mark, it was evident that the hosts had no plans to back down. Despite Almería’s hard work, Barça did have their chances.

FC Barcelona overcame a plucky Ajax at the Amsterdam Arena to claim three points that ensure they will be joining PSG in the second round of the Champions League. Leo Messi was the man of the moment, scoring a goal in each half to equal Raúl’s all-time record of 71 goals in the competition. Barça and PSG will now fight it out for top spot in Group F. It was a lively game from start to finish, but there was a dearth of real chances for either side in the first half hour. The best chances all fell to Ajax, who actually out-possessed the Catalans in the first 45 minutes, with Lucas Andersen, Schöne and Klaassen all coming close, and Jordi Alba shining above everyone else with a series of last-ditch tackles.

FC Barcelona wanted desperately to get back to winning and Lionel Messi was looking to make history at Camp Nou, but excellent goalkeeping from Celta’s Sergio Álvarez and some unlucky breaks saw the Catalans surrender their lead at the top of the Spanish League table. The Catalan team hit crossbar 4 times, lose second straight in La Liga. Celta win to stay unbeaten on the road this season. The first half ended without any scoring from either side, although several chances either just missed or were thwarted with solid goalkeeping at both ends of the pitch. The second half opened with Neymar hitting the bar yet again. Then just a couple of minutes later, Celta silenced the Camp Nou crowd.

Four Barça players have been shortlisted for the FIFA Ballon d’Or 2014. They are Leo Messi, Neymar Jr, Andrés Iniesta and Javier Mascherano. FIFA and France Football magazine announced on Tuesday morning those players nominated for the award, which is given to the best player of the calendar year. The final decision will be taken by the coaches and captains from every single national team around the world as well as by journalists from France Football via a system of votes. On the 1^st of December the final shortlist of the three finalists will be made public. The winner of the Ballon d’Or 2014 will be revealed on the 12^th of January, 2015 during a gala ceremony which will take place in Zurich.

First half scores from Barça’s lethal one-two punch of Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr gave the home side everything they would need, as a near total dominance of the ball kept Ajax safely at bay. In a match featuring a pair of sides with long, intertwined histories and similar playing styles, it was FC Barcelona who showed they were master of their domain. Despite a common past, this was just the third meeting ever between the clubs. By the end of the game, however, there was little doubt that Barça were the better squad. The result leaves Barça comfortably in second place in Group F with six points. Ajax are third with two points and Apoel are fourth with one point. For the moment, Paris Sant-Germain lead the group with seven points.

Barça saw off a brave Eibar at the Camp Nou, with second half goals from Xavi, Neymar and Messi to confirm their top spot in the Spanish League and give the fans plenty of optimism a week before the trip to the Bernabeu to play against Real Madrid. With Ratikic and Busquets in the stands, Luis Enrique pushed Macherano into midfield alongside Xavi and Sergio Roberto, making his first league start, with Mathieu partnering Piqué in the heart of defence. Up front, Messi was accompanied by Pedro and Neymar , with Sandro and Munir coming on late in the second half. There were no surprises in the way the teams set about the game though, with Barça dominating possession and constantly probing the disciplined Basque defence.

First half goals from Messi and Neymar kept Barça top of the Spanish League table, but with Rayo down to ten men for the last half hour, it could and perhaps should have been a bigger win for the league leaders. But they maintained their unbeaten record and have still to concede a league goal. Luis Enrique rang the changes in his selection for the game, with Piqué and Bartra starting at the heart of defence and Mathieu filling in at left back, with Mascherano and Jordi Alba both benched. In the middle, Xavi was handed another start alongside Iniesta and Busquets, while Munir got the nod over Pedro up front. Barça looked none the worse for the rotations though, as they began brightly against a Rayo team who made it clear from the off that they were prepared to go toe to toe with the league leaders.

A disappointing night in Paris has ended with Barça's unbeaten record coming to an end. 3-2 down with half an hour to go, Barça gave it everything in search of a late equaliser, but PSG hung on to take the three points FC Barcelona have lost for the first time this season. Luis Enrique said before the game that he believed PSG are serious candidates for the Champions League title, and he was proved right. David Luiz put the home side ahead, but Messi responded within seconds. Then goals from Verratti and Matuidi either side of half-time put the French champions back in command, and although Neymar pulled one back for Barça, an intense final half hour produced no more goals.

Barça put five past Levante in Valencia on Sunday evening, with Neymar, Rakitic, Sandro, Pedro and Messi all on target. FC Barcelona has obtained 12 points from 12, 11 goals scored and none conceded for Luis Enrique’s team, who’ve made an impressive start to their three game week, with Malaga and Granada next up. Barça beat Llevant to continue both their unbeaten record and keep yet another clean sheet, which Luis Enrique feels “goes to show even more our idea of playing as team … Rather than singling anyone out in particular, I’ll just say that I was happy with all of them.”

Barça played with the Catalan flag shirt, as a way to commemorate Catalonia's National Day, which took place on Thursday.It was a special tribute, in the middle of the self-determination debate and in the 300th anniversary of the year Catalonia lost its sovereignty. Two goals in five minutes late on from Neymar gave Barça a deserved win in an exciting game against Bilbao at the Camp Nou on Saturday afternoon. The Brazilian came on for Munir, who again gave a solid performance, just after the hour mark and his skill, speed and understanding with Messi tipped the scales FC Barcelona’s way against the determined and lively Basques. So that’s three games and three wins for Luis Enrique’s Barça at the Spanish League, with six goals scored and none yet conceded. Next up is the opening game of the Champions League against Apoel on Wednesday night.

A late goal from B team youngster Sandro gave Barça the three points at El Madrigal in a hard fought game that Luis Enrique’s side dominated, though they found it tough going at times against a determined Villarreal defence. Sandro ensured Barça go into the international break with two Spanish League wins out of two, leading the domestic championship.From the off, Leo Messi, wearing the captain’s armband in Iniesta’s absence, again looked sharp as he combined well down the right with Dani Alves and the Argentinean and Pedro had the best of the early chances, as Villarreal were forced into some desperate defending.

Following the resolution announced this Wednesday by the FIFA Appeals Committee on violations of regulations regarding the transfer and registration of children aged under 18 years, FC Barcelona announced that it will continue to defend its interests before the highest sporting authority, in this case the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). FIFA confirmed the sanction imposed on the Catalan club which bans them from signing new players during two transfer periods. Therefore, FC Barcelona will not be able to sign new players next winter and in the summer of 2015. The Catalan clubs considers that FIFA is questioning its youth academy model, known as La Masia, where stars such as Leo Messi, Andrés Iniesta, Xavi Hernández or Pep Guardiola grew up.

With less than a week to go till the start of the Spanish League season, Barça put on an encouraging show for the Camp Nou this Monday evening, putting six past Club Leon to take the 49th edition of the Joan Gamper Trophy.  Goals from Messi, Neymar (2), Munir (2) and Sandro gave the side their second 6-0 win of the pre-season and to add to the upbeat atmosphere, Luis Suárez  made his debut, coming on for the final quarter of an hour. With only Ter Stegen and Vermaelen unavailable, Luis Enrique sent out a strong starting XI, with Alves and Jordi Alba outside Mascherano and Mathieu at the heart of the defence and a front three of Messi, Rafinho and Neymar Jr,  ahead of Rakitic, Busquets and Iniesta.

Despite the result, Wednesday’s match was a great test for Luis Enrique’s side against Napoli in Geneva. Claudio Bravo made his Barça debut against the club that finished third in Serie A last year, and although the Italians took the win thanks to the only goal of the night, the Catalans played strong and confident football despite the absence of some of their biggest stars, such as Messi, Neymar and Xavi. Despite posing very little threat in the friendly in Geneva, Napoli edged it thanks to a Dzemaili strike after 80 minutes.