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Lionel Messi scored yet another sensational free-kick on Sunday night as Barcelona beat Athletic Bilbao 2-1 to claim second place on the La Liga table - just ahead of Real Madrid.
Sunday's free-kick was the 21st that Lionel Messi has scored in the past 5 seasons - the highest number of free-kicks anybody has scored across Europe's top five leagues.
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This goal came in light of the leak which revealed Lionel Messi's contract details at the club. The leak revealed that the Argentine ace signed a staggering four-year deal in 2017 believed to be worth €555 million (€139 million per year). Considering the financial rut Barcelona currently find themselves in, the leak did not go down well with a lot of people across the world, and tensions would have naturally been high.
However, despite whatever was happening off the pitch, Lionel Messi was able to shut out the noise when he stepped on the pitch, scoring free-kicks like only he can.
Messi's goal in the 20th minute marked his 650th career goal for the club and gave Barcelona the lead before Athletic Bilbao equalised when Jordi Alba scored an unfortunate own goal in the 49th minute.
Barcelona eventually found the winner when Antoine Griezmann struck the back of the net in the 74th minute, giving the Catalan club all three crucial points. The Blaugrana now find themselves second on the La Liga table - 10 points off Atletico Madrid, who have a game in hand.
With just under half the season left to play, Lionel Messi and Barcelona will undeniably have a challenge on their hands if they seek to catch up with and overtake Atletico Madrid atop the table.
Messi's remarkable free-kick against Athletic Bilbao naturally caused Twitter to explode as people from all around the world took to the platform to voice their admiration for the Argentina international.
Here is a look at some of the best Twitter reactions to Messi's free-kick.
Best tweets following Lionel Messi's incredible free-kick for Barcelona against Athletic Bilbao
