As a result of the foul the Argentine suffered in last nights victory over Dynamo Kiev, FC Barcelona have stated that ‘Leo Messi has a 1-2 degree sprain in his right ankle that puts him in doubt for the derby with Espanyol on Saturday.’ With the Club World Cup start for Barcelona just four days later, it would be sensible to assume that manager Pep Guardiola will be unlikely to risk playing him in this weekends fixture.
Pep Guardiola was pleased with Messi’s performance in the game on Wednesday, stating to press, “It is true that when in certain situations like the one we were in, Leo’s influence is very important for us.” He went onto praise his team for their effort in finishing top of a “terribly difficult group.”
In other news, World Soccer Magazine released a special article regarding the World Soccer player of the decade. In this, the vote counts were added from the years 2000-2009. In the end result, Brazilian Ronaldinho came out on top with 781 points. His former team-mate Lionel Messi came 2nd, he was only just behind him with 708 points to his name. The full list can be viewed on the World Soccer website here.
