- Lionel Messi won’t feature in Barcelona’s La Liga fixture at Malaga on Saturday
- Messi and his partner Antonella Rocuzzo are expecting their third child
- It comes just days before Barcelona play Chelsea in the Champions League
- It will be the first time the Argentine has missed a league fixture this season
Lionel Messi has withdrawn from the Barcelona squad travelling to face Malaga on Saturday night ‘due to personal reasons’.
The club’s official Twitter feed reported the news on Saturday morning and it is understood the decision was made at the last minute, with Yerry Mina taking his place.
It is believed Messi is about to become a father for the third time any day now.
Lionel Messi has withdrawn from the Barcelona squad to face Malaga ‘for personal reasons’
Messi celebrates scoring a crucial goal in Barcelona’s 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid last week
Manager Ernesto Valverde plans to rotate his squad at Malaga ahead of Tuesday’s return leg with Chelsea in the Champions League.
This will be the first La Liga match Messi has missed this season and the Argentine star is in superb form, with five goals and two assists in his last five matches.
In total this season, Messi has scored 32 goals and contirbuted 16 assists in all competitions.
Barcelona will do without him as they aim to extend their current eight-point advantage over Atletico Madrid at the top of La Liga, where they remain unbeaten after 27 matches.
Their last-16 tie with Chelsea is delicately-poised at 1-1 after Messi cancelled our Willian’s goal in the first leg at Stamford Bridge.
Messi scored Barcelona’s equalising goal as they held Chelsea 1-1 in the first leg in London
