Lionel Messi has been left out of Barcelona’s squad for their trip to Dynamo Kiev on Tuesday night.
The six-time Ballon d’Or winner has not been included in Ronald Koeman’s final 19-man squad ahead of the Blaugrana’s latest Champions League outing in Ukraine, report agencies.
Messi will join Gerard Pique on the sidelines as Barca look to extend their 100 per cent record in Group G, with the Spanish defender set to miss a large portion of the season after suffering a serious injury during Saturday’s 1-0 Liga defeat to Atletico Madrid.
Frenkie de Jong has been omitted from Koeman’s plans along with Messi, however, the Dutch head coach played down any issues with the pair during their pre-match press conference.
“They need to take some rest and after the good performances in the Champions League. It is a good time for them to rest,” Koeman told reporters.
Messi played the full 90 minutes of Barca’s defeat at Wanda Metropolitano, but was unusually subdued as the team suffered their third domestic loss of the 2020-21 campaign.
