Jose Mourinho has branded Fifa's Ballon d'Or as "bad for football" as he thinks it highlights individualism rather than working for a team - which is not an ethic he wants at Chelsea.
Uefa president Michel Platini proclaimed in midweek that a Germany player - not favourite Cristiano Ronaldo - deserves to win 2014's Ballon d'Or due to the nation's World Cup win in the summer.
On Friday, Real Madrid issued an embittered criticism of Platini's remarks, stating that they clearly felt their top goalscorer and global icon Ronaldo was the most deserving of the accolade, while coach Carlo Ancelotti also condemned the Frenchman for airing his views.
These sort of public spats are exactly what Chelsea want to avoid, according to Mourinho, who does not believe the obsession that clubs and players have over the Ballon d'Or is healthy or beneficial.
"This kind of trophy, the Ballon d'Or, is not good for football," the former Real Madrid and Inter boss told reporters. "This is why I don't care about it.
"Sometimes it looks like we are looking for stars, we are looking for some people to be more important than others. And this is not the culture we want in this club.
"I don't care about it. But it's there. It's there as a consequence of the good work the team is doing. And, if they feel that, okay. It's good for them.
"But the mentality here is not to be worried about that. Even less being obsessed with that.
"When I see these two names, Cesc Fabregas and Eden Hazard, I think clearly they don't think about it. They think about the team, about playing well and trying to win matches."
Mourinho won Fifa's Coach of the Year award - which is handed out in the same ceremony as the Ballon d'Or - in 2010 after guiding Inter to treble glory and has since come second and third.
The Portuguese manager is currently in the midst of his second stint at Chelsea, after leaving Madrid in 2013.
Carlos Vela's hat-trick earned David Moyes a first win in charge of Real Sociedad as his new side beat Elche 3-0 on Friday.
Moyes' reign at Anoeta began with a dour 0-0 stalemate at Deportivo La Coruna last Saturday, but Vela was on hand to inpsire the Scot's team this week.
It took just three minutes for Mexico international Vela to score the first goal of Moyes' tenure, as he met Carlos Martinez's cross from the right with a bullet header.
By no means did Sociedad have it all their own way, though, with Elche's highly rated Brazilian forward Jonathas causing all sorts of problems for Gorka Elustondo and Ion Ansotegi at centre-back.
But Moyes' men looked lethal on the counter-attack, and Vela netted his second of the game at the end of an incisive breakaway just after the half-hour mark, finishing low after a brilliant lofted pass from captain Xabi Prieto.
And Vela again proved a thorn in the visitors' side early in the second half, the former Arsenal man completing his hat-trick in the 53rd minute by poking through a defender's legs and into the bottom-left corner.
The win lifts Sociedad three points above the Liga relegation zone, while Elche remain second from bottom.
The Israel trainer succeeds Kwesi Appiah at the helm after penning a a two-year contract with the Black Stars
Former Chelsea boss Avram Grant has been confirmed as the new coach of Ghana's national team.
The Black Stars had been looking for a new coach since Kwesi Appiah's resignation in September. Grant was interviewed by the Ghana Football Association (GFA) the following month and has now signed a two-year contract to take charge of the national team.
GFA president Kwesi Nyantakyi told reporters on Thursday that the Israeli has been charged with the task of "doing well at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations and winning the 2017 tournament".
Nyantakyi also revealed that Grant will be assisted by Maxwell Konadu, who was installed as caretaker coach after Appiah parted company with the GFA by mutual consent.
Grant has not coached since leaving Partizan Belgrade in 2012, though he has recently been serving as technical director of Thai club BEC Tero Sasana.
The 59-year-old trainer is best known for leading Chelsea to the final of the 2008 Champions League, where they beaten on penalties by Manchester United, though he also enjoyed spells in England with Portsmouth and West Ham.
Grant also has a wealth of international experience, though, having spent four years in charge of his native Israel between 2002 and 2006.
Bernd Schuster, Marco Tardelli, Michel Pont, Juan Ignacio Jimenez and Patrick Kluivert had previously linked with the Ghana vacancy.
Costa has shone so far this season at Chelsea with 11 Premier League goals since his £32million summer switch from Atletico Madrid.
But the Brazil-born hitman has not impressed as much for Spain, scoring once in two Euro 2016 qualifiers and pulling out of the most recent internationals.
Cesc Fabregas also missed Spain's win over Belarus and defeat to Germany this month, causing friction between Del Bosque and Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho.
And the Spain boss has fanned the flames by criticising Costa.
"He's suffered because he hasn't given us all we expected of him and he's ended up playing nervously," Del Bosque said.
But the 63-year-old also criticised Sergio Ramos for his questioning of Costa and Fabregas' commitment to the Spain cause.
"Sergio Ramos made a mistake, he shouldn't have said that," he added.
Marcos Rojo has handed Manchester United a boost after returning to training following the dislocation of a shoulder in the derby defeat to Manchester City earlier this month.
With Louis van Gaal preparing United for Saturday’s visit of Hull City the game may come too soon for Rojo as the manager has previously stated players have to train for up to two weeks before being considered.
After Hull, United face Stoke City on Tuesday and Southampton the following week so Rojo should come into contention for these matches if he is not deemed match fit for the Tigers game.
It was initially feared Rojo could be out for as long as six weeks following the injury on 2 November, but the Argentinian has recovered quickly at a time when United are suffering from a long casualty list.
Ander Herrera, the £28m summer signing, is facing a fight to reclaim a starting berth after being demoted to the reserves this week. The Spanish midfielder began the season in Van Gaal’s first XI but lost his place following indifferent form and injury, having suffered a fractured rib.
After the injury the 25-year-old was selected for the 2-2 draw at West Bromwich Albion – playing in a corset – but he has not featured since, with Fellaini scoring a fine equaliser at the Hawthorns and continuing to impress subsequently.
The Belgian has started all of United’s four games since, including meetings with Chelsea and Manchester City, while Herrera played for United’s Under-21s this week, scoring in the 5-0 win over Blackburn Rovers in a Lancashire Senior Cup tie.
Herrera has so far struggled with the pace of the Premier League and to be an influence in matches since joining from Athletic Bilbao.
Jonny Evans, who also played against Rovers after returning from a broken foot, said: “I think the manager will have to assess that [a first-team recall] and also the fitness coaches. I’ve been training for a week or two now but it’s taking me time to get my fitness up as I’ve been out for so long.”
Germany's World Cup-winning captain and coach Franz Beckenbauer is being investigated over his part in picking Russia and Qatar as World Cup hosts.
The 69-year-old was one of 22 men who voted in December 2010 on where the 2018 and 2022 events would be held.
Prospective Fifa presidential candidate Harold Mayne-Nicholls, who led Fifa's pre-decision inspection of the bidding nations, is also under investigation.
Ethics chief Michael Garcia is also investigating three Fifa executives.
All three are current members of the world governing body's executive committee - they are Spain's Angel Maria Villar Llona, Michel D'Hooghe from Belgium and Worawi Makudi from Thailand.
"Last Wednesday I went to Zurich to give all necessary clarifications to the allegations," D'Hooghe told BBC Sport. "I was and am convinced that my answers completely clarified the whole situation, the more that I have nothing to hide."
Llona was the head of the Spanish/Portuguese bid for the 2022 World Cup and is the current head of the Spanish FA.
BBC Sport understands Uefa president Michel Platini - the only man to publicly declare that he voted for Qatar 2022 - has been cleared and is not the subject of any further investigation.
American lawyer Garcia opened formal proceedings against "a number of individuals" last week.
Earlier this month, Fifa published a summary report - which Garcia himself claimed was "incomplete and erroneous" - from his two-year inquiry into the bidding process.
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone hailed his players for turning round a poor start to their UEFA Champions League campaign to qualify for the last 16 with a game to spare.
Last season's beaten finalists smashed Olympiacos 4-0 on Wednesday thanks to a Mario Mandzukic hat-trick to gain revenge for their 3-2 defeat to the Greek champions on matchday one.
A run of four consecutive wins in Group A without so much as conceding a goal has put the Spanish champions in pole position to top the group as they just need to avoid defeat to Juventus by two goals or more in their final game to go through as group winners.
And Simeone insisted the pressure has been released now that they have achieved the minimum goal of making the knockout stages. "We knew we needed to win to obtain the objective of the club which was to get to the last 16 from a very difficult group and we had to respond against very good opponents," said the Argentine.
"It is true that we very ruthless, we generated a lot of chances, but the most important thing is to score because if you create chances without scoring it doesn't mean anything."
Mandzukic was the star of the show as he registered his first hat-trick for the club since his summer move from Bayern Munich. And the Croatian's feats were even more remarkable given Simeone admitted he was a major doubt before the game due to a shoulder injury.
"We were thinking yesterday before the game that he wasn't going to play," added Simeone. "He played very well. He scored, which is always important for a striker, but the most important thing is the team."
Atletico still have work to do in Turin in two weeks' time to ensure they avoid the likes of Chelsea and Bayern Munich in the next round. Right-back Juanfran is determined to round off the group in style.
"I am very happy for the team to have qualified," said the Spanish international. "We want to win in Turin, we need to go through as group winners. We don't want to lose any game."
Michel laments Madrid return By contrast, it was an unhappy return to the Spanish capital for Real Madrid legend Michel as he saw his Olympiacos side torn apart for the first time in five group games. The Greek champions now need to beat Malmo at home on matchday six and hope Atletico beat Juventus to qualify for the last 16 for the second consecutive year.
"It was a very hard defeat to take. We had a bad night and the responsibility for that is mine.
"The result and what Atletico showed is a reminder of how difficult the group is and the merits of what we have done so far. We can aspire to many things, but Juventusand Atletico are on another level."
Former Rangers owner Craig Whyte has been arrested in Mexico, it has been reported.
An arrest warrant was issued last month for the 43-year-old in connection with the sale of Rangers Football Club in 2011.
Whyte took control of Rangers in May 2011 but the club went into administration in February the following year.
A Crown office spokesman said they would take steps to ensure Whyte appeared at Glasgow Sheriff Court, the Daily Record reported.
Four men appeared in court earlier this month charged with fraudulent activity linked to the sale of the club three years ago.
Gary Withey, 50, David Whitehouse, 49, Paul Clark, 50, and David Grier, 53, were granted bail following a hearing at Glasgow Sheriff Court.
A separate arrest warrant was issued for Whyte after he failed to attend a court hearing last week at the Royal Courts of Justice in London after being ordered to pay more than £17m to Ticketus.
Bayern Munich attacker Franck Ribery feels the Fifa Ballon d'Or is no longer going to the best player in the world and is decided by politics, rather than performances.
The Frenchman was beaten to the prestigious individual award by Cristiano Ronaldo for his 2013 efforts despite guiding Bayern to a historic treble.
Ribery, who is not even in the 23-man shortlist that will be whittled down the three stars shortly this time around, believes the trophy has lost all meaning after witnessing first hand how the Real Madrid star was treated last year.
"I learned a lot during last year's Ballon d'Or gala. As soon as I got there, I told my wife that I would lose," Ribery told Sport Bild.
"I saw how Sepp Blatter was hugging Ronaldo and how his entire family was there. I'm not stupid. It was clear that he had to win it. He wouldn't have brought his entire family with him otherwise.
"It will be the same this year. What can I say about it? Manuel Neuer or Arjen Robben should win it. You can't disagree with this. Manu has won it all, he is a great guy and he isn't arrogant. Arjen has played an incredible season in the Bundesliga and then a fantastic World Cup.
"But I fear it will be about politics again. The Ballon d'Or is no longer for the best player. It's all about politics. Fabio Cannavaro won it in 2006 because he won the World Cup, that's all.
"I don't miss the Ballon d'Or. I am not jealous because this award doesn't mean anything to me any more. I am happy with what I have in Munich.
"When 70,000 fans are screaming my name at the Allianz Arena, I get goosebumps. I can go home happy after that."
An injury-plagued 2014 played a role in Ribery's absence from this year's award, in which Germany and Bayern goalkeeper Neuer, four-time winner Lionel Messi and current holder Ronaldo are favourites.
The 23-year-old midfielder was in Birmingham playing in a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa when his South coast home was burgled on Monday night.
Premier League footballer Victor Wanyama's home was "robbed clean" while he was playing for Southampton at Aston Villa.
The 23-year-old midfielder was in Birmingham playing in a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa when his South coast home was burgled on Monday night.
A Range Rover Sport, said to be worth £60,.000, Washington stolen along with three televisions, electronics, designer clothing and jewellery.
Wanyama, from Kenya, discovered to burglary when he returned to his home in Winchester, Hants.
A spokeswoman for Hampshire police said: "Officers are currently investigating a burglary at a house in the St Cross area of Winchester.
"Entry was forced to the home between 8.30am on November 23 and 2.15am on November 25.
"Items of electrical property and jewellery were stolen from the address along with the keys to a Range Rover Sport which was then stolen from the driveway.
"The car was located during the early hours of today in Iver, Buckinghamshire and has been recovered."
A source close to Wanyama told the Nairobi News: "It seems the thieves had ample time considering he was not in the house.
"They turned the house upside down and he is still in shock. The police have been called in and investigations have started."
Wanyama has played for his native Kenya 31 times at international level.
Reports from his home country today described him as being 'robbed clean'.
He is currently enjoying a high-flying season at Southampton Football Club, who are second in the Premiership, having made 11 appearances.
The defensive midfielder has netted three times for Saints following a 10 million pound move from Celtic last season.
He was voted SPL Young Player of the Year in the 2012-13 season, won the SPL in 2011-12 and 2012-13 and won the Scottish Cup in 2012-13.
Wanyama was part of Ronald Koeman's starting 11 in the away fixture to Aston Villa, where Saints' Nathaniel Clyne denied the home team a win with his last-minute equaliser.
THREE Premier League stars have been snubbed by UEFA
Manchester United duo Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie and Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero have all been left out of UEFA's 40-man strong list of nominees for their team of the year.
Chelsea pair Thibaut Courtois and Diego Costa are included, along with Manchester City stars Vincent Kompany and Yaya Toure and Arsenal ace Alexis Sanchez.
No English players are nominated, with just Welshman Gareth Bale flying the flag for Britain.
Bale is joined by seven team-mates from Real Madrid - Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, James Rodriguez, Sergio Ramos and Dani Carvajal.
Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich boast the most though, with nine members of their squad – Manuel Neuer, David Alaba, Mehdi Benatia, Jerome Boateng, Philipp Lahm, Xabi Alonso, Arjen Robben, Thomas Muller and Robert Lewandowski included.
The 40 players have been chosen by Uefa.com writers based on their performances for a European club or national side during 2014. The public can select their preferred formation before picking their starting XI from four goalkeepers, 12 defenders, 12 midfielders and 12 forwards.
Manchester United’s Luis Nani has reiterated that he believes there are “always possibilities” that he can return to the club from his loan at Sporting Lisbon, and the Old Trafford outfit “are my club.”
Nani underlined the potential Sir Alex Ferguson saw in him - but which he has failed to demonstrate since he reached his high point at Old Traffrd three years ago - by scoring the goal of the night in the Champions League last night, for Sporting against Maribor. Nani worked the ball around five players in a congested area to score and later rescuing Joao Mario’s over-hit cross to set-up Algerian Islam Slimani to score again. Nani said after the game that he held no negative sentiment against United for Louis van Gaal’s decision to let him leave, as part of a loan deal to bring in Marcos Rojo for central defence, though he would not be returning to Old Trafford in January.
“They are my club. I was at home there and I have to demonstrate that there are always possibilities,” Nani said. “I have nothing against Man United. I came here to play and get games. I am focussed back here at Sporting.”
Nani’s talk came in the context of the positive comments he made about United, after he played for Portugal against Argentina at Old Trafford last week. That was interpreted in his own country as a consequence of the frosty recent relations between the player and the Sporting president Bruno de Carvalho. De Carvalho criticised the side’s players after their defeat to Vitoria Guimaraes in the Portuguese league and Nani – who has established himself as the de facto team leader – was unhappy. When Sporting subsequently beat Schalke at home in the Champions League, he said: “Those who don’t know how to lose, don’t know how to win.” That was interpreted as a veiled attack on de Carvalho. Nani’s latest comments are an attempt to demonstrate that he is not agitating to leave Sporting before the end of the season.
Sporting will probably need to take a point fom their last game against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge to qualify from the knock-out stage, with Schalke the favourites to beat Maribor.
"This was a great evening,” the 28-year-old said last night. “They are all to be congratulated. We gave a good answer. If we enter the game with winning mentality we know we can come away with the victory. Any player playing at Stamford Bridge does so with more desire."
Three goals against 10-man Bayern Munich and suddenly Sergio Agüero is being hailed as the new Diego Maradona or being given a leg up to the pedestal of contemporary legends occupied for so long by just Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Is Manchester City’s striker really that good? As a striker, he quite possibly is, as his hat-trick against Bayern demonstrated. For while it was true that the Germans had nothing riding on the result, and had gone down to 10 men before half time, the context of the game was everything. City were being outplayed. They needed to win, or felt they needed to win, and Agüero was the player, the only player, who made that possible.
He had three chances on the night, and took them all ruthlessly. The first one might have been a penalty, but Agüero’s pace, strength and eye for a chance had put him into a position to score, which was why Mehdi Benatia was correctly shown a red card for bringing him down. By the end, the whole ground was in no doubt that he would score when the final chance came his way. The bigger the occasion, the more crucial the result, the more the game seems to be slipping inexorably away without some sort of superhuman intervention, the more likely it appears that Agüero will step up to provide it.
“This year Sergio has been unbelievable,” his team-mate Samir Nasri said. “He was the same last year but then he got his injury. This year he is fitter.
“When he is one-on-one with the goalkeeper you don’t see him miss the target. Ronaldo may be on another planet, but for me Sergio is up there with Messi and [Luis] Suárez. He always delivers in a difficult moment. I don’t think I need to speak about his performances because the stats speak for themselves. He’s a great player. When he’s on his day he’s unstoppable, and we needed him to be that against Bayern.”
The stats also indicate that Agüero might be City’s most valuable player. Yaya Touré is generally considered the heartbeat of the team but there appears to be a direct correlation between Agüero scoring and City succeeding. Agüero has scored five of City’s seven Champions League goals this season and 17, almost half, of their 38 in all competitions.
Furthermore, every time Agüero has scored in a game this season City have either won (7) or drawn (4). Of the seven games when Agüero has played but failed to score, City have lost five, won one and drawn the other.
Of the three strikers on duty at the Etihad this season Agüero has played more games and more minutes than Edin Dzeko or Stevan Jovetic and therefore scored more goals, though his total of 17 so far is more than the other two put together.
Agüero has produced more shots on target (38) than either Dzeko (8) or Jovetic (9), and on average he has scored a goal every 74.8 minutes, which compares very favourably with Dzeko’s 243.8 and Jovetic’s 222.3. Just over 30 per cent of Agüero’s shots end up in the back of the net, whereas the other two can only boast 14.8 per cent and 12.5 per cent, although you do not really need Opta statistics to tell you that the Argentine is lethal in front of goal.
Some of Agüero’s shots are speculative, he misses from time to time like any other human, but if you need a goal to save your life and he only has the goalkeeper to beat then there cannot be many surer bets in world football.
It was Manuel Pellegrini who first suggested that his player had the potential this season to establish himself alongside Messi and Ronaldo at the pinnacle of world football, though the City manager appeared to be backtracking slightly when he said after the Bayern game that Agüero might simply be the best striker in the world. There is a subtle difference.
Ronaldo and Messi are both players who can not only make goals, they can alter the course of a game by doing things other than scoring goals.
Ronaldo can make lightning charges from the half way line, for example, occupying the larger part of a defence to leave room for someone else to score. He can also test defences with shots on goal from set pieces, often leading to a tap-in goal for a team-mate after a half-save or a block on the line. In addition to his own reliable finishing, Messi can contribute the mazy dribbles that take out defenders, the unexpected pass into space or the route into the area that did not occur to anyone else.
Agüero is not quite such a complete player, his forte is scoring goals, but as a pure striker there are few better. His main competition in England at the moment might be Diego Costa, in Europe Luis Suárez, although the latter is really out on his own as an individual, both a deadly finisher, clever schemer and brilliant improviser.
But neither Costa nor Suárez is as physically strong as Agüero, as athletically muscular, as hard to knock off the ball. Unstoppable is exactly the right word, for though it is no secret what Agüero will try to do to defences, preventing him doing it can be near to impossible. He definitely deserves to be rated in the company of Costa and Suárez, but catching up with Messi and Ronaldo might take a little more time.
Not least because both of those players (and indeed the other two) take Champions League football and vying for domestic honours for granted. Manchester City are not quite at that stage yet. They are improving, thanks in no small part to Agüero, but if it is true that the biggest games bring out the very best in the biggest players, City will not figure in as many of them unless the rest of the squad can find a way to match their leading scorer’s standard.
That can be the only explanation for Agüero’s absence from the 40-man shortlist Uefa have just announced for team of the year. There are nowhere near 40 better players than Agüero in Europe, and there might not be any deadlier strikers.
MANCHESTER UNITED boss Louis van Gaal has admitted he paid a visit to see Arjen Robben ahead of Bayern Munich's Champions League game with Manchester City tonight (7:45pm).
Van Gaal forged a strong close relationship with Robben during his two-year spell at the Bundesliga champions between 2009 and 2011 as well as with the Dutch side during the World Cup.
He apparently went to the Lowry Hotel in Manchester ahead of Bayern's game with the Citizens, but he insists it was just to see Robben.
"I am not here to see Bayern but Arjen Robben," Van Gaal told Sport Bild.
"I won't attend the banquet."
Robben was linked with a stunning £40m switch to United in the summer, but reaffirmed his desire to see out his career with Bayern.
"I have been in England, I have been in Spain, so I don’t have that desire, but that is all to do with the club I am with now," he told The Daily Telegraph last month.
"I am 100 per cent convinced I will stay here for a very long time.”
Robben could help Bayern push City to the brink of elimination from the Champions League with victory tonight.
Ryan Giggs says he is open to the possibility of leaving Manchester United in order to further his coaching career.
The Welshman has become synonymous with the club since making his debut in 1991, and is the club's record appearance maker with 963.
Following the departure of David Moyes towards the end of last season, Giggs took over in a caretaker role for four matches, winning two with one defeat and one draw.
The 40-year-old retired from playing at the conclusion of that campaign, and is now assistant coach to Louis van Gaal at Old Trafford.
Pelé was taken to hospital on Monday with an urinary infection, it was reported in Brazil. It is the second time in two weeks that he has been admitted for treatment.
The 74-year old former Brazil player entered the Albert Einstein hospital in São Paulo but officials there released only a brief statement with no details about his condition.
He had an operation at the same hospital on 12 November to remove kidney stones and was discharged on 15 November.
Pelé won three World Cups as a player – in 1958, 1962 and 1970 – and has also been named football player of the 20th century by Fifa.
Lionel Messi scored his first hat-trick of the season to become the Primera Division's all-time top scorer by firing Barcelonato a resounding 5-1 win at home to Sevilla.
The Argentinian's treble took him past former Athletic Bilbao forward Telmo Zarra's mark of 251 goals and on to 253. They have come in just 289 games.
The 27-year-old opened the scoring with a sensational free-kick to draw level with Zarra, but his strike was cancelled out by Jordi Alba's own goal at the start of the second half.
Neymar headed Barca back in front moments later and Ivan Rakitic extended Barca's lead before Messi broke the scoring record after an awesome combination with Neymar and then struck again to complete his treble.
Messi had been the subject of a litany of press reports linking him to a move away from Barcelona last week following comments the striker had made to Argentinian newspaper Ole, saying he did not know if he would stay at the Catalan club for the rest of his career.
But he produced the perfect response on the pitch. His brilliant, curled free-kick put Barca in command after 21 minutes, but Sevilla refused to wilt after going behind and kept the hosts at bay for the rest of the first half.
Unai Emery's side made a bold start to the second half and drew level three minutes after the break. Vitolo took on Dani Alves and Gerard Pique by the line and pulled the ball back across goal towards Denis Suarez, but Alba got there first and could not avoid tumbling the ball into the bottom corner.
However, just a minute later Barca were back in front, Neymar rising above the Sevilla defenders to head Xavi's curled free-kick in at the near post. A quarter of an hour later Rakitic scored against his former club to kill off the third goal to end all hope of a Sevilla comeback.
Pique carried the ball from defence towards the halfway line and played in Luis Suarez on the right with a sweeping ball. The Uruguayan cut inside and picked out Rakitic on the opposite side of the box and the Croatian's header was too powerful for Beto, who prevented the ball from hitting the net but not from crossing the line.
But the best goal of the game was still to come - an irresistible combination between Neymar and Messi. The Argentinian played in his strike partner down the left hand side, the Brazil international scuttled towards goal but - rather than shooting - sent the ball across the far post and Messi slid to the floor to nudge the ball home with his right foot.
Barcelona's all-time top scorer was greeted with rapturous applause by the Nou Camp and his team-mates combined to carry the history maker on their shoulders.
But Messi was not just content to have made history, and moments later scored his hat-trick, playing a one-two with Neymar on the edge of the area and then placed the ball low beyond Beto and into the net.
The player was then given a guard of honour by his team-mates at the end and a celebratory video was shown on the Nou Camp's big screens.
David Moyes was given an idea of the scale of the task that faces him at Real Sociedad when his new club played out a scrappy 0-0 draw at Deportivo La Coruña in the Scot's La Liga debut on Saturday.
Former Manchester United and Everton manager Moyes took over as coach of the Basque club on November 10 and the stalemate at the Riazor in his first game in charge leaves Sociedad down in 14th place with a mere 10 points from 12 matches.
On a miserable night in Galicia, both because of the rain and the poor quality of the match, Sociedad were fortunate not to suffer defeat as promoted Depor, who also have 10 points in 15th place, pressed hard in the second half.
Moyes has only just started learning Spanish and mostly had to rely on an interpreter to communicate with his players.
"The coach has asked us for more intensity and I think we showed that in the first half when we created some good chances," Sociedad midfielder Sergio Canales said in an interview with Spanish television.
Sociedad's next league game is at home to Elche on Friday.
