Who Are Lionel Messi's Biggest Opponents in La Liga?

Lionel Messi is simply the greatest player on the planet. Breaking the 40 year-long record of Gerd Muller only further proves his dominance over the beautiful game (via Mirror).

It is hard to argue against Messi's candidacy for this year's Balon d' Or. With all the goals and assists he has racked up, the Barcelona star is truly a living legend.

Further more, Messi is head and shoulders above almost any player he will ever face. The Blaugrana striker is an alien, an enigma and a god in Barcelona. There seems to be no stopping the Argentine, but that does not mean that some do not try.

But every legend and hero is not without their share of foes. 

Messi has several opponents that consistently test the 25-year-old in La Liga. I must first admit that Messi posseses very few weaknesses if any. But, that doesn't stop teams from testing him.

What follows is a look at Lionel Messi's biggest opponents in La Liga.

Note for this article we will be looking mainly at Lionel Messi's direct performances against La Liga teams in domestic competition courtesy of statistics from transfermarkt.co.uk

Espanyol

At first glance, I know what many of you are wondering. "The same Espanyol that is next to bottom in the table is an opponent to Messi?"

While it seems Barcelona's crosstown rivals do not pose a threat to La Blaugrana, they have had Messi's number for many years.

Lionel Messi did score four goals against Espanyol this May in a wonderful performance, but until then, his play had been halted.

Before the four-goal thriller, Messi had not scored against Espanyol since September of 2008.

That is an unbelievable statistic to consider. Four years separated goals scored by Messi against a team. This is very unlike Messi indeed.

Espanyol have always come out hot against Barcelona. The two share a province in Spain, but the feelings are not well in the battle for Barcelona.

Historically, Espanyol have always been pro-Spain, while Barcelona remain very much pro-Catalonia. Though politics should not interfere with sports, it is almost the lifeblood in Spain.

When these two rivals meet, Espanyol have one mission: Stop Lionel Messi.

Will this year be any different, or can Messi build on his four-goal performance? Only time will tell. But as far as overall team play, Espanyol pose little threat to the giants of Catalonia.

Sevilla

Over the last two seasons, Sevilla have found a way to slow down Lionel Messi.

The club uses a well-organized defense that focuses on physicality. These are two things that harm the play of Messi, as more physical defenders tend to do better against the Argentine.

The star of Barcelona has only netted once against Sevilla in the past two years.

Sevilla further showed their ability to slow down Messi in September when Barcelona barely pulled off a comeback win against the strong side (via Goal).

So far this season, Sevilla has stopped Messi and almost beat Barcelona in the process. The rest of the season will surely treat fans to a wonderful game. But will Messi be able to score against Sevilla?

Getafe

Getafe may also appear as a surprise on this list.

Lionel Messi was able to score three goals this calendar year against Getafe, which would seem like another day at the office for the Argentine. Still, it is Getafe who have constantly made things difficult for Messi.

The Azulones have always been very deliberate in making things difficult for Messi. Some of the most frustrated times I have ever seen Messi have been against Getafe.

From physical play to constant shadowing, the Getafe defense is relentless in closing down any chances Messi creates. Their tenacity at the back line even saw Getafe beat Barcelona last season (via Goal).

Messi has already scored against Getafe twice this season in a 4-1 away-win rout, but it took the Argentine until the later part of the second half to find both goals (via Goal).

The rest of the season should see more goals from Messi, but it is very likely that those goals will be very hard to get.

Real Madrid

The headline alone should speak for itself. It is no secret that Real Madrid are not only Lionel Messi's biggest opponents, but Barcelona's as well.

Historically, Messi has succeeded in tearing apart Los Blancos and has been instrumental in the many Barcelona victories of the past years.

However, Real Madrid has never let anything come easy for Messi.

From the disgusting stomp on the hand of Lionel by Pepe to the countless unnecessarily rough tackles, Los Merengues are out for blood when they face the Barcelona star (via foxsports).

Real Madrid are not only opponents on the field.

They are the greatest rivals to Barcelona in La Liga and the Copa del Rey, and in some instances even the Champions League. Real Madrid will always be the club in the headlines with Barcelona, and Messi will always be tested against them.

The greatness of Leo Messi is evidenced by his ability to perform so well against an opposition as great as Real Madrid.

Messi has already scored many goals this year against the Whites, but I believe Barcelona as a whole will also triumph in competition with their eternal rivals this season.

Parking the Bus

Lionel Messi, and Barcelona's, greatest enemy is a defense that parks the bus.

This was seen when Chelsea shocked the football world by eliminating Barcelona in last year's Champions League (via foxsports). With the entire team sitting behind the ball, Messi has to work even harder to create scoring chances.

Even this year, Barcelona had to pull out a wonderful comeback against Sevilla, who defended behind the ball in numbers. 

Barcelona consistently have trouble beating a parked defense, and Celtic were able to capitalize on that in Champions League play earlier this season when they beat Barcelona 2-1 at home (via Goal). 

More and more Spanish teams have begun to park their defense when playing Barcelona, and it is slowly becoming the norm for Barcelona to face.

The skill of Lionel Messi is the stuff of legend, but the parked-bus defenses constantly stifle his magical play. Will this continue in seasons to come, or will Barcelona adapt to beat the defense-heavy tactics they regularly face?

As I have said, Lionel Messi has few weaknesses, if any. But teams will be relentless in their pursuit of stopping the magisterial Argentine. Messi may have some opponents tougher than others, but he has no limits on what he can accomplish.

Now to you, the readers. Who are Messi's biggest opponents in La Liga?

Tre' Atkinson, The Catalan Blood of Bleacher Report. Follow @TreAtkinson

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