Lionel Messi tests positive for COVID
January 2, 2022
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) forward Lionel Messi and three teammates have tested positive for COVID-19, the French club said on Sunday.
Defender Juan Bernat, reserve goalkeeper Sergio Rico and midfielder Nathan Bitumazala, as well as one member of staff at the Ligue 1 club, are also isolating after contracting the virus.
Isolating in Argentina
Messi tested positive while on vacation in his hometown of Rosario in Argentina.
The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner is "constantly in contact with our medical service. When he is negative, he will be able to return to France," PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino, who is also from Argentina, told a press conference.
The French government recently announced that it would reduce the quarantine time from 10 to seven days for people who are fully vaccinated, but test positive for COVID-19. As Messi is not in France at the moment though, it is unclear when he will be permitted to return.
Will miss cup tie and possibly Lyon clash
Messi will be absent for Monday's French Cup tie against Vannes, and Pochettino said he did not know if his fellow countryman would also miss PSG's first Ligue 1 match following the winter break, at Lyon next Sunday.
He is the latest in a growing list of soccer stars and coaches who have contracted COVID-19 in recent days.
Liverpool manager — and German native — Jürgen Klopp is also self-isolating after testing positive on Saturday, while Bayern Munich captain Manuel Neuer and four other players on the Bundesliga team have also contracted COVID.
jsi/rs (AP, Reuters, dpa, AFP)