TheCable

Lionel Messi did not attend a pre-season medical with FC Barcelona on Sunday, a source has told Reuters.

This is the last latest development following his shock announcement last Tuesday that he wants to leave the club.

Reuters footage showed players arriving for coronavirus tests on Sunday morning and Messi was absent.

He had been due at Barcelona’s training ground at 10:15 am local time.

Players had been given staggered appointments throughout the morning until midday.

On Saturday, media reports from Spain had said Messi would not undergo a pre-season medical or attend training on Monday.

The 33-year-old six-time world player of the year had informed his lifelong club he wished to leave immediately.

His request plunged Barca into new turmoil less than two weeks after their humiliating 8-2 defeat by Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final.

There are also rumours that the Argentina star wants to join Manchester City in England.

“Messi wants to play for Manchester City. Treat the departure of Barcelona as something that hurts the soul, but the end of a cycle,” Marcelo Bechler of Esporte Interativo, had written on Twitter.

ESPN also quoted sources as saying that Pep Guardiola, City’s coach, and Messi spoke on the phone about the possibility of his move to England this summer.