Lionel Messi has claimed a lot of accolades and awards in his storied career, but never before had he won this one. Somehow.

Messi earned his first La Liga Player of the Month award on Friday for his strong showing for Barcelona in January. The Argentine scored six goals in five matches for the Spanish giant. (REPORT)

Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez will spend up to the next three weeks on the sidelines after sustaining an injury in Bayer Leverkusen’s DFB Pokal defeat to Werder Bremen earlier this week. Hernandez has scored 22 goals in 26 appearances for the club this season. (REPORT)

Costa Rica international Bryan Oviedo, 25, will be spending the next few seasons with Everton after agreeing to a new three-and-a-half-year contract. (REPORT)

Diego Costa suffered a broken nose in training, but is still expected to be available for selection when Chelsea takes on Newcastle United on Saturday. (REPORT)

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Baffled to learn that Messi has never before won a Player of the Month award in La Liga? How badly will Bayer Leverkusen miss Hernandez? Will that Chelsea academy player ever get invited to train with the first team again?

Share your thoughts below.