Barça returned to training today after four days off for the Christmas holidays and Messi was not in the session. The Argentine went to Rosario (Argentina) last Tuesday directly from Valladolid and, with Koeman's permission, he will extend his vacation and return to work, according to the Barça club, “after the Barcelona-Ebar” that takes place on Tuesday 29 at the Camp Nou.
After the match against Mendilibar's men, Koeman plans to give his players two days off for the end of the year. The team will return to training on Friday, January 1. Messi will already be there so it is expected that he will be available for the Dutch coach against Huesca, on January 3. A Messi who extends his vacation, but this Sunday will be very present for the interview that he gave to Jordi Evole and which is broadcast at 9:15 p.m. on La Sexta.
Some previews of the talk between the journalist and the Barça player have already been published. In one of them, he stated that “now I am fine. I had a really bad time in the summer, because of the end of the season and what happened then. I dragged that into the beginning, but now I feel good, eager and excited. I know the club is going through a difficult time, at the team and club level, but I'm looking forward to it “. In another pill, asked about the reasons why Pep Guardiola was his best coach, he said: “He has something special. He makes you see things in a way … how he prepared the games, how he prepared them defensively, where to attack. I was unlucky enough to have Guardiola and Luis Enrique very followed, the two best. Having them so often and so fast made me grow a lot in football and in tactical wisdom. “
Koeman is dosing Messi. This season he already gave him rest against Ferencvaros and Dinamo Kiev, in the Champions League. The 33-year-old star has played 1,574 minutes in 18 games this season (10 goals and five assists). The rest of the squad returned to training at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper With the exception of the long-term injured Ansu Fati, Gerard Piqué and Sergi Roberto. The great novelty of the call-up against Eibar could be that of Ousmane Dembélé, who trained normally. Before training, all the Barcelona players passed a PCR test as set out in the LaLiga protocol.