Lionel Messi has been granted an extended Christmas holiday by Barcelona and he will sit out the league clash against Eibar on Tuesday.
The Argentine superstar returned to his home city of Rosario last week following the Blaugrana’s pre-Christmas win over Real Valladolid and he is now allowed to stay in the nation longer to spend time with his family.
As per Diario AS, the Catalan club’s first-team players returned to training on Sunday but Messi was not among them and indeed he is still at home following the allowance of the club.
Barcelona news in recent months has been defined by the Messi news this year because the club captain had been seeking an exit, although the club stood firm on his future last summer.
Last week, Messi scored his 644th goal for Barcelona, breaking the record set by Pele with Santos, to continue his remarkable record throughout his career.
Messi continues to be hugely influential for Ronald Koeman’s side, with 10 goals in 18 games this campaign, but he won’t be involved against Eibar this week.
After that match, Koeman plans to give his players a further two days rest ahead of the New Year.
