Villarreal 1 Barcelona 1: Messi rescues point with late free-kick

Following their Copa del Rey defeat to Athletic Bilbao, Barcelona were held to a 1-1 LaLiga draw by Villarreal.

Lionel Messi rescued a point for Barcelona with a late free-kick in a 1-1 draw at Villarreal on Sunday, although the Catalans' failure to win dealt their pursuit of LaLiga leaders Real Madrid a further blow.

La Liga Leaks: Dybala ‘waiting for Madrid call’, N’Zonzi ‘to reject Premier interest & join Juve’

Senor Rumor Andrew Gaffney wraps the latest transfer rumours and going-ons from La Liga.

While the British media has predictably jumped on the fine form of Dele Alli to suggest he’s likely to be the most sought-after signing this summer, over in Spain, it appears Paulo Dybala is the latest player Barcelona and Real Madrid will battle over.

Old Trafford

Real Madrid made it 39 games unbeaten, pulling level with Barcelona's Spanish record, as lowly Granada were put to the sword in LaLiga.

Cristiano Ronaldo got on the scoresheet after being presented with his fourth Ballon d'Or at the Santiago Bernabeu, as Real Madrid ran out 5-0 winners over LaLiga strugglers Granada.

The day Cristiano Ronaldo almost joined Messi at FC Barcelona

Nearly team mates: Ronaldo and Messi

As if Barcelona’s ‘Holy Trinity’ of Messi, Suarez and Neymar wasn’t scary enough, Cristiano Ronaldo has also claimed he would have loved the chance of playing with Leo Messi.