Robert Huth (born 18 August 1984) is a German footballer who plays as a centre back for Premier League club Stoke City.

Huth was signed for Chelsea from the youth system of German club Union Berlin in 2001 by then Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri. He joined Middlesbrough in 2006 and spent three years at the Riverside before joining Stoke City for £5 million in 2009. After a successful 2010–11 season for Huth he was named as Stoke's player of the year.

Huth made his debut for Chelsea at the age of 17 in the last game of the 2001–02 season, coming on as a sub at the half-time in a 3–1 defeat at the hands of Aston Villa. In August 2003 Reading tried to sign Huth on loan for the 2003–04 season but their bid was rejected by Chelsea. He made twenty appearances during the season and Huth stated that he was happy to stay at Chelsea. In the 2004–05 season injury restricted him to few appearances for The Blues.

When the 2005–06 season started, Huth's chances of becoming a first choice player at Chelsea in the near future seemed limited as John Terry, William Gallas, and Ricardo Carvalho ahead of him in the Chelsea squad. These were the preferred central defenders for Chelsea manager José Mourinho, who had succeeded Ranieri in the summer of 2004. Mourinho did, however, reject a bid for Huth from German club Bayern Munich in the summer of 2005. Huth scored twice for Chelsea, with one against MŠK Žilina in a Champions League qualifier and the other against Birmingham City in the FA Cup. At the end of the 2005–06 season Huth stated that he was unhappy with his lack of first team chances which lead to Middlesbrough, Wigan Athletic and Everton making bids. He said that he will join Middlesbrough after the 2006 World Cup after agreeing a five-year deal.

Lionel Andrés Messi (Spanish pronunciation: [ljoˈnel anˈdɾes ˈmesi], born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine footballer who plays in La Liga for FC Barcelona and is the captain of the Argentina national team, mainly as a forward.

By the age of 21, Messi had received Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations. The following year in 2009 he won both the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year, and won the inaugural FIFA Ballon d'Or in 2010 and 2011. He also won the 2010–11 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award. Messi is the fourth football player to win three Ballons d'Or, after Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini and Marco van Basten and the second player to win three consecutive Ballons d'Or, after Michel Platini. His playing style and small stature have drawn comparisons to Diego Maradona, who himself declared Messi as his "successor".

Messi has won five La Liga titles and three Champions League titles. In 2012, Messi made UEFA Champions League history by becoming the first player to score five goals in one match, in a 7–1 win against Bayer Leverkusen. With two goals in the next round against A.C. Milan, he matched José Altafini's record of 14 goals in a single UEFA Champions League/European Cup season. He also became the first player to top-score in four successive European Champion Clubs' Cup campaigns. He set the world record for most goals scored in a season during the 2011–12 season, with 73 goals.