As well as being home to some of the most
famous stars and most storied clubs, LaLiga has also been home to the
most creative nicknames down through the years. Here are some of the
stories behind the best of those names…

1. Lionel Messi – “La Pulga”

Lionel Messi has scored hundreds and hundreds of LaLiga goals for Barcelona – 438 to be precise – but few may remember his very first, a stoppage time strike against Albacete at the Camp Nou on May 1st, 2005. Samuel Eto’o had opened the scoring on 66th minute to put Barça on the way to a 2-0 win and the LaLiga title.