Spanish champions Barcelona performed a u-turn under pressure from promoters yesterday and said that Argentine superstar Lionel Messi would after all play in a match against an all-star team today.
Spanish champions Barcelona performed a u-turn under pressure from promoters yesterday and said that Argentine superstar Lionel Messi would after all play in a match against an all-star team today.
Their decision came just hours after Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola had revealed that Messi ufffd whose World Cup ended in disappointment as Argentina were humbled 4-0 by Germany in the quarter-finals ufffd would not feature as he had just returned from holiday and was not match fit.
However, following a hastily-arranged meeting with the promoters, the Catalan club issued a statement saying that Messi would after all play a role. "The promoters of the tournament and Barcelona representatives held a meeting in which the matter of Leo Messi playing in the match was raised," read the statement.
"In the light of the good progress shown by the player in the last training session and that there will be another one before the match, the coaching staff believes that it is fine for the striker to play for a few minutes of the match."
The Spanish press claimed, though, that it was only because Messi was compelled to play 'for at least half-an-hour' under the terms of the tournament contract otherwise Barcelona would receive no money.
According to sports daily Marca, the organisers put pressure on Barcelona and even threatened to cancel the match. Local television had equally threatened not to transmit the match with only as they called it a Barcelona B team taking the field without Messi.
Guardiola had been firm earlier in the day when he ruled out Messi taking any part.
"He (Messi) will not play," said Guardiola.
"He has trained just once, and is not yet ready to play. To play him would be risky. He would have played if he had been in shape."
