Hi, I’m Giselle Cesin with The18 and this is your La Liga soccer update.
All three FIFA Best Men’s Player finalists, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr., played in La Liga last season.
Cristiano came away with the award, his fifth. That matches Messi’s career haul. Messi finished second in the voting and Neymar third.
Two of those players, Cristiano and Messi, will be in action this weekend in La Liga. Cristiano’s Real Madrid against Girona and Messi’s Barcelona against Athletic Bilbao.
The most intriguing match in La Liga this weekend, though, is Saturday’s clash between 4th-place Atlético Madrid and 6th-place Villarreal. Just three points separate the sides, even though Atlétic have yet to lose in La Liga this season.
Villarreal fired manager Fran Ascriba on Monday and appointed Javier Calleja in his place. Will the inevitable rise in energy that follows the arrival of a new manager be enough to get by Atlétic’s organized defense?
Well guys, that’s it for today. Tune in next week with more from Spain, where not winning the FIFA Best Men’s Player Award will probably just make Messi wreak even more havoc than usual.
