Jaime

Leo Messi tonight secured his 500th win in his 710th appearance for Barcelona. Of these triumphs, 285 have come at the Camp Nou, where the team claimed victory over Leganés to advance to the Copa del Rey quarter-finals, with the Azulgranas' skipper bagging a brace and providing an assist to help the team to victory.

This Thursday evening sees Barcelona take on Leganés in the Copa del Rey round of 16 at the Camp Nou. Leo Messi has been on target nine times in the sides' most recent meetings. The Azulgranas will be looking to secure victory and book their place in the next round.

Before this morning's training session, the Barcelona squad held a minute's silence in memory of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna. Leo Messi published a message on his social media accounts in response to this sad news: “I have no words... All of my thoughts are with Kobe's family and friends. It was a pleasure to meet him and share good times together. A real genius has left us”. 

This matchday sees Leo Messi's Barcelona head to Mestalla to face Valencia, one of his favourite victims and opponents against whom he has found the net 28 times, with 22 of these strikes coming in La Liga meetings. The Azulgranas travel to Mestalla looking to hold on to top spot at a stadium where they are unbeaten since the 2006/07 campaign.

The Copa del Rey is a competition in which Leo Messi has enjoyed great success. The FC Barcelona captain has lifted the trophy six times (2008/09, 2011/12, 2014/15, 2015/16, 2016/17 and 2017/18), made 73 appearances, which have yielded 51 goals and 29 assists. UD Ibiza are Barça's first opponents in this year's edition.

Leo Messi's winner secured maximum points for Barcelona in their meeting with Granada, which was the side's first outing of the second half of the La Liga campaign. This triumph sees the Azulgranas remain top for another matchday, whilst the Argentine forward continues to lead the division's scoring charts, with 14 goals to his name.