Kolkata, Sep 1 - From spaghetti to pasta, pork to beef - the Argentine soccer team led by football magician Lionel Messi will be spoilt for choice. The Hyatt Regency hotel here in West Bengal where the team is staying, has laid out a varied spread appealing to the taste buds of the Latin American side, an official said Thursday.

The team's chef Diego Iacovone, who landed in the city in the last week of August, is strictly monitoring the food quality and instructing the hotel cooks on preparing Spanish, particularly Argentine dishes.

Wayne Rooney is in sight of Barcelona's ace footballer Lionel Messi as he targets Europe's Golden Boot.

With 25 in the La Liga, the Barcelona ace has 34 goals this term. He has banged in eight goals in his last three games.

The Sun has reported that Rooney, who has 33 in total for Manchester United this season, leads the Golden Boot race by one with 26 Premier League goals.

Madrid, Dec 22 : It has been a wonderful year for Barcelona's Lionel Messi, who Monday was crowned with the FIFA World Player of the Year award, based on the votes of the managers and captains of the world's national teams.

Messi, 22, came second in the voting in 2007 and 2009 but this time managed to finish ahead of Real Madrid stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka, as well as Spaniards Xavi and Andres Iniesta, the previous winners.

Few people would dispute his position as Planet Football's leading play right now.

Rarely in the history of football has one player achieved so much in one calendar year.

Madrid, Dec 10 : European Footballer of the Year Lionel Messi is doubtful for Saturday's Catalan derby between Barcelona and Espanyol.

The Argentine winger suffered a bad foul at the end of Wednesday's 2-1 win - in which he scored the winning goal - away to Dynamo Kiev and has a sprained right ankle. He will undergo teststo determine the extent of the injury.

Barca have no other injury worries ahead of the derby, now that defender Gabi Milito is finally fit after 18 months out of action.

Madrid, Nov 26 - Barcelona are sweating on the fitness of star strikers Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, ahead of Sunday's "Clasico" at home to Real Madrid.

Both forwards missed Tuesday's crucial 2-0 Champions League defeat of Inter Milan, with thigh strains.

Barca scarcely missed them Tuesday, as Thierry Henry, Pedro Rodriguez and Andres Iniesta tore apart the Inter defence time and again.

Geneva - Argentinian football star Lionel Messi joined Thursday a campaign to support the humanitarian work of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

The "Our world. Your move" campaign, launched in May, aims to highlight humanitarian problems and the roles individuals can play to effect change.

"In life, as in sport, we're able to do more and achieve more when we work as a team," the Barcelona player Messi said in a statement.

Barcelona - Barcelona are evaluating the possibility of giving their superstar Lionel Messi permission to take a brief holiday, so that he can rest physically and mentally from a stressful time, the daily Sport said Monday.

"Such a dense schedule, saturation from tension in Argentina, unfair and disproportionate criticism of his play and the many doubts raised in his country around his commitment to the national team have led him into a dead-end. Messi is mentally exhausted and needs a break," the Catalan daily said.

Montevideo  - Lionel Messi did not exactly look happy when he was substituted 10 minutes from time in Argentina's match against Uruguay late Wednesday.

Still, the Barcelona striker remains a key element in coach Diego Maradona's plans for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, where he is likely to get yet another chance to settle his undoubted debt with the national team.

Maradona did not immediately confirm whether he was to remain at the helm of the national team.

Madrid  - European champions Barcelona announced on Friday the extension of the contract of Lionel Messi until 2016.

Messi, 22, was already under contract until 2014. This latest extension will make him the highest-paid player at the Camp Nou, earning around 10.5 million euros (15.46 million dollars) per season, which is slightly more than new signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Messi's buyout clause, which is required by Spanish law, has been set at a staggering 250 million euros. This is the price, far and way a world record, that another club would need to pay to take the little Argentine away from Camp Nou.

Madrid - European champions Barcelona are preparing to make Lionel Messi their best paid player, according to newspapers AS and Sport on Wednesday.

The sports dailies said that Messi, currently in the United States as the star attraction of Barca's summer tour, will shortly see his annual salary increase from around 8.5 million euros (12.24 million dollars) to around 10 million euros.

London, Aug. 4 : Barcelona and Argentine superstar Lionel Messi will be offered a new eight million-pound-a-year long-term deal.

According to The Sun, Barca also wants a 255 million pound buy-out clause included in the 22-year-old football star''s contract.

However, according to another report appearing in the web site goal. com, Messi is to be handed a golden contract that will see him become the highest paid player at Barcelona, with a buy-out clause of 300 million Euros.

London, July 9 : Barcelona star striker Leo Messi has urged his club's top brass to get Cesc Fabregas and Javier Mascherano to retain their European crown.

Messi, who scored against Manchester United in the Champions League Final, believes Barcelona must draft in even more quality if they want to keep their position at the summit of club football.

Mumbai, May 27 : A team of performance analysts at Castrol have revealed that a free kick by Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo can generate greater acceleration than a Formula 1 race car, while Barcelona striker Lionel Messi runs down the field during a season are the equivalent of the distance between Barcelona to Madrid.

And that''s why Ronaldo and Messi will carry the hopes of Manchester United and Barcelona into the Champions League final on May 27th.

Barcelona - Argentine Lionel Messi made clear Thursday his excitement about the Champions League final that his team, Barcelona, is set to play next week against Manchester United in Rome.

"I could not enjoy the final in Paris because of an injury I had, but, fortunately, I have a second chance now. This is the most important game in my career," he said.

Barcelona won the 2005-06 Champions League in the French capital, when they beat Arsenal.

London, May 20 : Barcelona's Argentine football star Lionel Messi has had a dig at Manchester United's Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of the Champions League final, saying: It's not about you and me.

Messi, 21, said: "Nobody plays to be the best player in the world. This is a team game. I don't see it as a tussle between Cristiano and me. It will be a Barca-Manchester battle. What is important is that Barcelona are champions of Europe on May 27 in Rome."

Madrid (Spain), May 4 : Argentina and Barcelona star striker Leo Messi has warned Chelsea that they are next in his firing line after Barcelona’s 6-2 demolition of Real Madrid.

Messi scored twice as the Catalan giants humiliated bitter La Liga rivals Real in their own Bernabeu backyard.

Chelsea battled for a 0-0 draw in last week’s first leg. But Messi insists Barca will come out with all guns blazing for Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final return.

Barcelona  - Barcelona have one foot in the semi-finals of the Champions League after thrashing Bayern Munich 4-0 on Wednesday in a one-sided quarter-final first leg.

Barca turned in the performance of the European season to put brittle Bayern to the sword, thus confirming their candidacy for the continental crown.

Jurgen Klinsmann's side carried on from where they left off in Wolfsburg on Saturday, where they lost 5-1 - feeble in defence and swamped in midfield.

Buenos Aires  - Lionel Messi rose to the challenge of wearing the historic number 10 Argentina jersey by leading his side to a comfortable 4-0 win over Venezuela Saturday in Buenos Aires, in Diego Maradona's official debut as Argentine national team coach.

Argentina thus redressed its course in the South American qualifiers towards the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, and now stand second on 19 points from 11 games, four points ahead of leader Paraguay.

London, Mar. 5 : Manchester City is set to make a spectacular 100 million pound summer move for Argentina's Lionel Messi.

City owner Sulaiman Al Fahim, who six weeks ago missed out on Kaka, has personally sanctioned the world-record bid for the Barcelona striker.

Brazilian superstar Kaka turned down a 91 million pound switch to Eastlands to stay at AC Milan.

But Arab billionaire Al Fahim, who is a huge fan of Argentinian football, is determined not to lose out again and has made Messi his No 1 target.

Madrid/Barcelona  - Some 254 million euros, close to 330 million dollars: that is what it would cost to get the talented forward Lionel Messi away from Barcelona in accordance with Spanish law.

Barcelona have set 150 million euros (195 million dollars) as the fee - required by Spanish legislation - for the young Argentine to unilaterally break his contract with his current employer.