Messi to miss Celtic clash

FC Barcelona will be without Leo Messi for Tuesday's trip to Glasgow. Leo Messi could be out for two to three weeks. Messi will at the minimum miss upcoming matches against Celtic and Valladolid, after which comes the international break.

Messi had planned to play for Argentina despite the Albiceleste having already qualified for the World Cup.

The Argentinean could miss Osasuna away on the 19th as well, but he should be healthy for Barça's trip to the San Siro on the 22nd. Or, at the very worst, the Clásico that will take place the following weekend.

Lionel Messi was substituted after scoring in Barcelona's 2-0 win at Almeria on Saturday following a right leg injury. Messi gave Barcelona a 1-0 lead with a goal in the 21st minute. He asked coach Gerardo Martino to be substituted after making a long sprint to pressure the goalkeeper.

Injury came one day after Lionel Messi answered a judge's questions along with his father in a tax fraud case.

Record comes at a high price

Tata Martino's Barça broke the record of league wins at the start of a season, having racked up its seventh consecutive victory in Almería, but it has also lost Messi through injury in the process. Leo opened the scoring and Adriano got the second.

On Saturday, FC Barcelona strengthened its lead at the top of the BBVA League table with a deserved away victory over Almería, winning by two goals to nil in the Juegos del Mediterráneo stadium.


Argentine Leo Messi was the major protagonist in the first half, for both good and bad reasons. Tata Martino's decision to rest Neymar and Xavi on the bench meant the current holder of the Ballon d'Or was the real star of the first thirty minutes.

Messi opened the scoring after 20 minutes with a fine strike from medium range. But hardly ten minutes later he was forced to leave the pitch with a hamstring problem in his right leg, making him doubtful for the Champions League tie.

It was only after Messi's departure that Almería managed to create any real danger at the end of the first half. However, these chances failed to produce any results.

Barcelona held back in the second half, defending its advantage following the second goal, which was scored by Adriano. Almería attempted to close the gap in the closing stages of the match, but to no avail.

No rest for Messi

Leo Messi is set to be selected by Argentina for his country's coming games despite the fact that the South Americans have already sealed qualification to the World Cup.

It had been said that Argentina would allow the Barcelona forward to rest, but it seems not to be the case. Barça has not made an official request to rest the player and Argentina manager Sabella will include Messi in his squad and he will feature in Argentina's last home game at the Monumental.

Javier Mascherano may also be included in the squad, despite being injured – which will keep him out of Barça's next two or three matches. Sabella will call the player to assess his fitness, as he usually does with his players who are not 100%, before taking a final decision. Mascherano will miss Argentina's first game against Peru due to suspension.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, Scolari announced his squad, which includes Neymar and Alves, for Brazil's friendlies in Seoul and Beijing.

Messi, keen to come clean

Messi's lawyer has said that the player and his family wish to cooperate with the justice system and not enter into a battle with the State on the interpretation of the tax laws.

Cristóbal Martell delivered a statement outside the courthouse in Gavà, where the Argentine star was questioned by a judge for just over a quarter of an hour regarding alleged tax fraud amounting to around €4 million euros for the years 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Messi's father, Jorge Horacio Messi, answered questions shortly before the footballer. He also stands accused of the same infraction and is represented by the same lawyer, who stressed to reporters that "the Messi family has given instructions for total transparency, clarity and co-operation".

"The questioning has been done with the same will to be transparent and it is evident that there was little intent of committing fraud and a great willingness to normalize relations with the tax office", said the lawyer.

Messi's arrival at the Gavà courts shortly before 11:00 in the morning was greeted by a flurry of excitement - cheers from fans coupled with a few isolated shouts of "thief".

After an hour and a half in the court building, the player left with the same smile on his face as when he arrived and waved at the crowd of onlookers who had gathered at the gates of the building.

The Barça star did not stop to speak to fans, but he did give them the thumbs up.