Barcelona skipper Lionel Messi was the star of the show as he led his team to the top of the table after his performance during the 4-1 win over Celta Vigo.

Messi scored a hattrick to propel Barcelona to a big win at home against a Celta Vigo side in the bottom three on the Spanish La Liga table.

Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi scored the first goal of the game from the penalty spot midway into the first half of the game before Celta Vigo defender Lucas Olaza equalized for his team with four first-half minutes left on the clock.

Messi ensured that Barcelona didn’t go into the halftime break on level terms after scoring a well taken free-kick on the stroke of the interval to edge the Catalans to a 2-1 lead.

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He added another freekick goal just after the halftime interval to put daylight between Barcelona and their opponents thereby completing his hattrick.

He has now scored 34 hattricks in the colours of Barcelona to draw level with main rival and Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.

Sergio Busquets made sure of the points with the fourth goal for Barcelona in the last ten minutes.

Messi and Ronaldo have scored the most hattricks with 34 goals in total.

North London giants Arsenal have reportedly lined up a replacement for underfire manager Unai Emery.

Spanish tactician Unai Emery is under a lot of pressure after leading the Gunners to a run of five matches without a win.

According to Spanish news outlet El Confidencial, Arsenal officials have sounded out former Barcelona manager Luis Enrique about replacing Unai Emery as their new manager.

Arsenal manager Unai Emery was appointed into the job last summer after legendary Gunners boss Arsene Wenger left the role despite the fact that the Frenchman had one year left on his then contract at the Emirates Stadium.

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Arsene Wenger spent almost 22 years at Arsenal before his exit last summer.

His replacement Unai Emery led the Gunners to fifth place at the end of last season and also masterminded the run to the Europa League final before the North Londoners were thrashed by Chelsea in the final.

Eden Hazard (2), Olivier Giroud and Pedro Rodriguez scored the goals as Chelsea beat Arsenal 4-1 to win the Europa League last season.

Compatriot Luis Enrique could replace Unai Emery at Arsenal according to the aforementioned report.

Luis Enrique has been without a managerial job since he left the Spanish national team earlier this year due to family reasons.

Barcelona are reportedly set to let go of their two players, Ousmane Dembele and Samuel Umtiti, in the summer as both players have fallen out of favor with Ernesto Valverde this season.

Dembele, 22, joined the Blaugranas from Borussia Dortmund in a huge transfer fee a few years back, but the young Frenchman has failed to justify his price tag.

In all fairness to the versatile youngster, injuries haven’t been fair with him as he has encountered more than three long-term injuries since he joined the team.

Just like Dembele, his compatriot Samuel Umtiti is equally an injury-prone defender which is one of the reasons he’s not getting the game-time he deserves at Camp Nou.

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Reports from Spain via Liga-finance claimed that Barcelona are ready to let go of the two Frenchman as they have revealed their price tags.

It is believed that the Catalan club want interested suitors to pay nothing less than €120m for Dembele, while they hope to release Umtiti for €60m.

As much as Manchester United are desperately in search of more firepower at the final half of the pitch, I don’t see Ole Gunnar Solskjaer completing a transfer for Injury-prone Dembele except Barcelona lower their demand.

Having signed £80m-rated Harry Maguire from Leicester City last summer, it is very much impossible to see the Red Devils spend big on another defender in one year.

Manchester United currently occupy the 10th position in the Premier League standings after 11 round of matches, but that is expected to change if Solskjaer’s men can create and convert many clear-cut chances in subsequent matches.

To ensure that his attacking department becomes more threatening and prolific, Solskjaer has targeted in-form strikers and midfielders, including Erling Haaland and James Maddison who play RB Salzburg and Leicester City respectively.

However, the Norwegian boss will compete with more than 14 clubs for his young compatriot due to huge interest from Liverpool, Barcelona, Juventus, and Real Madrid.

Though Maddison isn’t attracting much interest from top clubs, Man United will need to release not less than £80m in the summer if they must complete the player’s signature.

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To this effect, bookmakers and pundits are predicting Solskjaer’s chances of luring the two attack-minded players to the Theatre of Dreams in January or prior to the start of next season.

According to Sky Bet, United are favorite to land the two players. The offered odds of 2/1 to join the 20-time Premier League Champions, while Maddison is placed on the odds of 9/2 to join the Red Devils.

Irrespective of the bookie’s perspective, the Red Devils are expected to sign at least one in-form striker in January who will compliment Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial’s qualities at the final third of the pitch.

Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Kai Havertz has opted for Real Madrid ahead of arch rivals Barcelona according to the Daily Mirror.

German international Kai Havertz is a transfer target for Premier League giants Manchester United and he recently talked about his conversation with Toni Kroos.

Kai Havertz confirmed that he had a discussion with German international teammate Toni Kroos about a possible move to Spanish La Liga giants Real Madrid.

The Bayer Leverkusen midfielder is expected to leave the German club at the end of this season.

The young German midfielder is rated at £80m and he has less than two years left on his current contract with Bayer Leverkusen.

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Kai Havertz was a key player for Bayer Leverkusen last season as they finished in the top four places on the German Bundesliga table thereby securing a return to the Champions League.

He was one of the best players for Bayer Leverkusen in the last campaign and that has continued unto this season.

Apart from Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United, Kai Havertz has also been linked with a move to German champions Bayern Munich who recently sacked their manager Niko Kovac.

The Croatian international lost his job after the 5-1 away loss to Eintracht Frankfurt in the German Bundesliga.

Manchester United have made an £80m transfer budget to sign Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Kai Havertz in the next transfer window as the Red Devils chief Ed Woodward is confident of bringing the German international to the Theatre of Dreams.

Unfortunately, latest reports have it that Barcelona are keenly interested in the player as they see him as the best replacement for out-of-favour Ivan Rakitic who is linked with a move to Manchester United.

According to reports making headline in Spain, the Blaugranas sent their scouts to run the rule over the player during Wednesday’s Champions League fixtures between Bayer Leverkusen and Atletico Madrid, and the were happy with his performances.

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This means that the two European giants are set for a crunch battle for the 20-year-old midfielder and Barcelona are ready to launch an eye-catching bid which will be too hard to turn down by the Bundesliga side.

It is believed that Ole Gunnar and his employers are in talks with Havartz’s representatives over the possibility of beating Barcelona to his signature but they will have to wait till the end of the campaign.

Bayern Munich are also in the race for the player as they want to add more quality to their midfield setup following their unimpressive start to the season.

Spanish La Liga giants Barcelona are in the race to sign Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang according to the latest reports coming out of the media in the United Kingdom.

Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang recently rejected the offer of a new contract from the Gunners and that has led to renewed interest in his services.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and strike partner Alexandre Lacazette both turned down new contract offers from Arsenal last month as the North Londoners sweat to sign their key players to long-term contract at the club.

Aubameyang has less than two years on his current Arsenal deal, while his strike partner Alexandre Lacazette has less than three years on his own Arsenal contract at the moment.

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According to the Daily Mirror, Spanish champions Barcelona are interested in a deal for the aforementioned Aubameyang.

It was revealed that the five-time European champions Barcelona want to sign the Gabonese international star when the winter transfer window reopens in the next few weeks.

Aubameyang has been the major source of goal for Arsenal with 13 goals in his last 18 games in the league.

In addition, the Gabonese player has scored the landmark of 50 goals in the colors of Arsenal in just 78 games for his team.

Seven-time European champions AC Milan are working on a deal to sign Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic when the January transfer window reopens in the next two months.

The interest of AC Milan in Ivan Rakitic was confirmed by Sports Mediaset as it was revealed that sporting director Zvonimir Boban is working on a deal to sign the Croatian international midfielder.

Ivan Rakitic is a long-term target for the Premier League duo of Manchester United and Chelsea.

Manchester United and Chelsea were both linked with a deal for him in the summer but nothing tangible came out of those transfer links.

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Ivan Rakitic is surplus to requirements at Spanish La Liga champions Barcelona as he’s now the fifth choice central midfielder behind the quartet of Frenkie De Jong, Sergio Busquets, Arthur Melo and Arturo Vidal.

The Croatian midfielder has been at Barcelona since the summer of 2014 when he joined from fellow Spanish La Liga club Sevilla.

He won the Champions League title in his first season at Barcelona.

In addition, Ivan Rakitic and Barcelona won the Spanish La Liga title in his first campaign at the Nou Camp.

In total, the Croatian national team player has won four league titles at Barcelona.