The Year of Lionel Messi Begins Now: Messi on the Cover of the New Issue of ESPN The Magazine

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Lionel Messi is arguably the best soccer player in the world, albeit without the flair, on or off field of Man U.'s Cristiano Ronaldo. Starring for FC Barcelona and the Argentine National team, Messi the 5’6 playmaker, who needed to take HGH to overcome a growth hormone deficiency as a kid, is responsible for some of the best passes and swiftest runs ever seen. In Yo Lo Que Hago Es Jugar Al Fútbol, writer Chad Nielsen catches up with ESPN The Magazine's cover athlete as he prepares to lead FC Barcelona into the Champions League Final.

“It was a pleasure to train with him (Ronaldinho) and see the things he did during games. Different things, impressive things, dribbling and juggling.”

Messi quotes from the article:

• "What I do is play soccer, which is what I like."
• "I had a growth problem, but that never stopped me from playing."
• "It was a pleasure to train with him (Ronaldinho) and see the things he did during games. Different things, impressive things, dribbling and juggling."
• "Being named among the best at something is special and beautiful. But if there are no titles, nothing is won."

In Uncontested, Peter Keating writes about LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling, a billionaire landowner, who has been facing federal civil rights charges for housing discrimination for more than two years. In its investigation into Sterling’s long, controversial record on and off the court, ESPN The Magazine obtained depositions from a case brought by 19 of Sterling’s tenants and the Housing Rights Center, which have not been made public before.

Quotes from the article:

• Sterling: "Do you know why (ESPN The Magazine) they're here? They want to know why the NAACP would give an award to someone with my track record!"
• Sterling, according to testimony by a former property supervisor, on the odor of one of the buildings he owned: "That's because of all the blacks in this building, they smell, they're not clean. And it's because of all of the Mexicans that just sit around and smoke and drink all day. So we have to get them out of here."
• Sterling, according to testimony by a former property supervisor, when a tenant sought reimbursement for water damage to her apartment: "Is she one of those black people that stink? I am not going to do that. Just evict the bitch."

ADDITIONAL FEATURES:

THAT WAS THEN, THIS (SIGH) IS NOW. A once-proud franchise, the Pittsburgh Pirates are now on a record run of 16 seasons below .500 (and counting). So how do the Bucs stop here? By learning the hard lessons of losing. Luke Cyphers reports.

THE MANNY EFFECT. ‘What might have been’ if Manny Ramirez not taken a banned substance? A handful of teams would look a whole lot different. Buster Olney reports.

STARTING FROM SCRATCH PAPER. In the next chapter of our series "How to Build a Program in Two Short Years," two Georgia State coordinators look to mold one team’s identity. Justin Heckert reports.

BABY ON BOARD. History shows that even the best drivers hit a speed bump once they have a little one. Father-to-be-Scott Dixon hopes to defy all that. Alyssa Roenigk reports.

NO MAN IS AN ISLAND…EXCEPT FOR MAYBE RAFAEL NADAL. His PR team has walled off its young star from media and fans. What’s life like in Rafael Nadal's fortress of solitude? The King of Clay gave us a glimpse. Tim Keown reports.

***ESPN THE MAGAZINE COVERS AVAILABLE AT ESPNMEDIAZONE.COM ***

Visit www.espnmediazone.com for ESPN's latest releases, schedules and other news, plus photos, video and audio clips and more.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=5971937&lang=en