Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman confirmed - today, Saturday - that captain Lionel Messi will be allowed to decide on his physical condition, before the Spanish Super Cup final against Athletic Bilbao on Sunday, as he explained the club's position on the winter deals.
Messi missed last Wednesday's victory over Real Sociedad on penalties, after suffering an injury in the victory over Granada last week.
Lucky kicks? ... this phrase does not exist in the soccer dictionary.
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Barcelona Club (@fcbarcelona_ara) January 16, 2021
"He trained alone yesterday, and he will join the team today. We will see if he will be available or not," Koeman told a news conference about Messi.
"The player himself always has the last word on his physical condition. We will wait and see how well he responds tomorrow morning, but we hope he is ready. Obviously it would be much better for him to be with us, because he gives us a better chance to win."
And the Dutch coach added, "We are talking about the best player in the world, and in the event of his absence, we will miss him. If he participates, the team becomes stronger thanks to his creativity and determination in front of the goal, which is something we can sometimes lack."
🔵🔴 🤝 🔴⚪ pic.twitter.com/XrnaaRSz3N
Barcelona Club (@fcbarcelona_ara) January 16, 2021
The Barcelona-Bilbao match comes less than two weeks after the Basque team was defeated 3-2 by the Blaugrana in the league thanks to a Messi brace, yet Koeman said that did not mean anything about the final match.
😍 A life is not complete without your presence 🧉 pic.twitter.com/H930iNJKkT
Barcelona Club (@fcbarcelona_ara) January 16, 2021
"Every game is different, and the opponent will return to the previous game and discover some things. We can also develop some things. We will see what happens tomorrow, but we must prepare and perform better than the last game," the Dutch coach said.
Disclaimer: The video contains scenes that may raise the pressure.
Not recommended to watch for the faint of heart.
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FC Barcelona (@fcbarcelona_ara) January 15, 2021
The Catalan club will play the final without long-term absences from Gerard Pique, Anso Fati, Sergi Roberto and Philip Coutinho.
We will face Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish Super Cup final 🏆
Sunday at the following times:
⏰20: 00🇲🇷
⏰21: 00🇪🇸 🇲🇦 🇩🇿 🇹🇳
⏰22: 00🇱🇾 🇪🇬 🇸🇩 🇱🇧 🇵🇸 🇸🇾 🇯🇴
23: 00🇸🇦 🇮🇶 🇰🇼 🇶🇦 🇧🇭 🇾🇪 🇸🇴
⏰00: 00🇦🇪 🇴🇲 pic.twitter.com/zi5JK0Mo00
Barcelona Club (@fcbarcelona_ara) January 14, 2021
Koeman also ruled out that the club will make changes to its list in the January transfers due to the postponement of the club's presidential elections.
The elections were postponed from January 24 to March 7 due to the high infection with the Coronavirus in the Catalonia region, which means that there is no permanent administration to make decisions about transfers this month.
"I heard many things, and this clearly annoys me. I feel sad and anxious," said Coman.
"I must point out that I am fine and happy. I know the financial constraints in the club. If it is not possible to enter into any contract, then this is how it will be. We will move forward with what we have."
The media speculated that Manchester City defender Eric Garcia had moved to Barcelona, while Koeman revealed that substitute goalkeeper Neto wanted to leave.
"The young players will leave to get time to play elsewhere for their development," the Dutch coach said. "But Nitto's situation is different, as his agent asked the club to leave, but we said no. He is an important goalkeeper for us and we want to cover all important positions."
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⏳ # SupercopaBarça 🏆 pic.twitter.com/lX4dkAuIsT
Barcelona Club (@fcbarcelona_ara) January 13, 2021
The three candidates in the Barcelona presidential election are former president Juan Laporta, entrepreneur Victor Font and former club manager Tony Frica.
The elections are held after the resignation of former club president Josep Maria Bartomeu last October.