Lionel Messi made history on Saturday, equaling a record that never would have been possible if he had left Barcelona as he wanted over the summer. With a rare headed goal in first-half stoppage time, Messi tied Pelé’s record for most goals with one club with the Argentine’s 643rd for Barça.

Moments before the record-tying goal, Messi had a penalty kick saved by Jaume Doménech, but Jordi Alba sent the ball back in off the rebound. Eventually the cross looped to the back post where Messi headed in.

MESSI!

Barcelona knocked Real Sociedad off the top of LaLiga by defeating them 2-1 Wednesday at the Camp Nou. If you’re a Blaugrana supporter, you’ll only want to see the opening 45 minutes, when Willian José’s opener against the run of play was sumptuously canceled out by Jordi Alba before Frenkie de Jong gave Barça a deserved lead at halftime. 

However, as beIN SPORTS commentator Ray Hudson said, it was “a magisterial first half followed by an absolute circus.”

Due to the scheduling havoc wreaked by COVID-19 and the resulting extension of the 2019-20 season, the summer transfer was extended until Oct. 5, but when does the January transfer window 2021 open? It’s been a wild ride, but some semblance of normality has returned to European football with the January transfer window set to open on Saturday, Jan. 2 and close on Monday, Feb. 1.

Has the January transfer window changed?

Barcelona stopped the rot — for the time being — by defeating 18th-place Levante 1-0 at the Camp Nou on Sunday to climb to eighth in LaLiga. The home side put 13 shots on target but the only one that counted was Lionel Messi’s angled finish in the 76th-minute following Frenkie de Jong’s well-weighted ball.

On Wednesday, Jan Oblak’s mere presence seemed to terrify RB Salzburg players who even thought about taking a shot on goal. The Slovenian keeper recorded a clean sheet as Atlético Madrid won to ensure a place in the Champions League knockout rounds. On Saturday, a Jan Oblak own goal vs Real Madrid showed even the best keepers in the world get unlucky sometimes.

Barcelona's interim president Carlos Tusquets feels the club should have cashed-in on Lionel Messi during the summer transfer window.

Messi was heavily linked with a move to Manchester City and sent a recorded delivery (Burofax) letter stating his intention to leave. He later said the decision was due to being disillusioned with the direction the now former board had taken the club. Ex-Barça president Josep Maria Bartomeu resigned in October rather than face a vote of no confidence, with Tusquets taking temporary charge until January's elections.

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane defended forward Eden Hazard's mental fortitude after the forward picked up another injury, ruling him out of Tuesday's Champions League meeting with Shakhtar Donetsk.

Belgium national team doctor Kris van Crombrugge had suggested Hazard's injury issues since joining Real were down to mental stress, however Zidane refuted those claims.