Lionel Messi wins first La Liga player of month award

Lionel Messi has been named La Liga player of the month for January, the first time he has won the award.

The award has been given out since the beginning of the 2013-14 Primera División season but the five-times Ballon d’Or winner had not won it until now.

The Barcelona forward was honoured at the 23rd time of asking after scoring six goals in as many league games in January.

The 28-year-old struck a hat-trick against Granada as well as scoring in victories over Athletic Bilbao, Málaga and Atlético Madrid to take his total of league goals for the season to 12.

Messi is only the second Barcelona player to win the award following Neymar’s success in November.

Cristiano Ronaldo has won the award twice since it began in September 2013, as have the Atlético pair Diego Godín and Antoine Griezmann and the Real Sociedad striker Carlos Vela.

Meanwhile the rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid has spilled into the Copa del Rey final, a match in which Madrid are not even playing.

Barcelona will face Sevilla in the final in May, but the discussion in Spain is about whether Real Madrid will allow the game to be played at the Santiago Bernabéu or force officials to choose a different venue.

Barcelona and Sevilla want the match at the Bernabéu, which is the biggest neutral ground, and would generate greater revenue. But Real Madrid have hinted that they want nothing to do with it, apparently hoping to avoid the risk of seeing their biggest rivals celebrating a trophy on their ground.