Lionel
Messi scored a superb freekick to bring up his 650th goal for FC
Barcelona on Sunday and help the Catalans register a 2-1 home win against Athletic
Bilbao, propelling them above bitter rivals Real Madrid to second on the La
Liga table.

The win
comes on the back of further controversy surrounding Messi, whose contract
details were published in the Spanish newspaper El Mundo on Saturday, AFP
reported.

According
to the leak on El Mundo, Messi’s contract, signed in 2017, sees him earn up to
€555 million over four years, saying it was a “colossal contract that ruined
Barcelona”.

Speaking in
his post-match interview, Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman said, “Someone has done
it with bad intentions to cause problems. You have to respect a player who has
given so much to Spanish football and to this club. I didn’t have any doubts
that it wouldn’t affect him on the pitch.”

Messi
answered his critics on the pitch, curling in a stunning effort on the 20th
minute mark to underline his worth and the reason the club has gone to such
lengths to retain his services.

Bilbao equalised
shortly after the restart with a Jordi Alba own-goal, but French international
Antoine Griezmann scored a tap-in 16 minutes from time to help Barca maintain
their recent momentum and register their fifth consecutive league win.

However, they
are still ten points behind table-toppers Atletico Madrid, who themselves registered
a 4-2 win over Cadiz to further galvanise their chase for a first title in seven
years.

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Former
Barca striker Luis Suarez starred in the win with two goals, a stunning freekick
and a penalty, bringing up his 13th and 14th league goal
of the season and stretch his lead at the top of the goal-scoring charts.

This came after
Real Madrid’s defeat by Levante on Saturday, which means Zinedine Zidane’s side
are now level with Barca on points, both of them struggling to keep pace in the
title race.

“Every
game is an important step towards reaching the goal we set ourselves at the
start of the season,” said Diego Simeone. “We have to keep pushing
each other.”

While
Messi’s free-kick was closer and bent perfectly into the top right-hand corner,
Suarez’s shot was further out and hit harder, a fizzing effort that curled into
the left side of the net.

“The
other day they were practising free-kicks,” said Simeone. “I told him
we had not seen him score many goals from free-kicks so that’s why I smiled
when I saw him score this one.”

“After
spending so long at Barca with Messi, it was difficult,” added Suarez.

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He was the
driving force again, his two goals making it nine in his last eight games. His
goals and assists have now earned Atletico 12 extra points in the league, with
Barcelona’s decision to let him leave, especially for title rivals, seeming
more misjudged by the week.

It could
get even worse for them and Real Madrid, given Simeone’s side still have a game
in hand over each of them.

Both would
have been given hope by a rousing display from newly-promoted Cadiz, who were
inspired by the relentless Alvaro Negredo.

The
35-year-old scored twice, could have had a hat-trick and certainly did not
deserve to be on the losing side.

But
Suarez’s double, between goals from Saul Niguez and Koke late on, sealed
another three points for Atletico, who now have the La Liga crown within reach,
even with half of the season left to play.