When Lionel Messi announced in the first week of September that he would – after all – remain with Barcelona for the forthcoming season, a collective sigh of relief could be heard all over Spain.

Messi, of course, is not just any player.

A six-time Ballon d’Or winner, the Argentine forward is arguably the greatest player the world has ever seen, or certainly ranks amongst the best.

It is thus not surprising that when he wrote a letter to Barcelona requesting a clearance, it was not only his club that was stunned, the whole La Liga was shocked.

But on Friday, when the 2020/21 La Liga season kicks off, Messi will still be with Barcelona and, as he said in an interview, give his all for the club.

Football fans will be able to watch Messi and other La Liga matches live and in HD on the StarTimes with all matches to be broadcast on Classic and Super Bouquets. Over fifty matches will also air on Basic and Smart Bouquets. ST Sports Premium Channel has been dedicated to La Liga. Thus, all sports content on the channel is in French language from Sept 1.

StarTimes recently secured the broadcasting rights of La Liga Santander (French commentary) for the next four seasons beginning with the 2020-21 season up until 2023-24 season across sub-Saharan Africa.

Barcelona’s first two games have been postponed to give the club time extra time to prepare after participating in the recent European cup competition finals.

Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla will start their campaign in the second week.