Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman has rejected the idea of resting star forward Lionel Messi for this weekend’s tricky league trip to Getafe despite a busy schedule in store.
It is the first of seven matches in the space of 21 days for the Catalan giants and it has been suggested by El Mundo Deportivo that the Argentine could be rested for the trip to Los Azulones in order to keep him fresh for the games coming up.
The testing schedule sees Barcelona take part in three Champions League matches including a clash against Italian champions Juventus, which will come just days after next week’s El Clasico tie against Barcelona.
“Messi could play in the next four games,” Koeman told reporters on Friday, as per Marca, when asked directly about the star being rested..
“He is one of those players who must play, he gets more tired when he does not play.”
The 33-year-old is the only Blaugrana player to feature in every game for the team since football restarted in Spain in June and he also played two matches for Argentina over the international break.
Messi has netted one goal in the opening three La Liga games of the season, in which Barcelona have amassed seven points.