Messi Boycotts Barcelona COVID-19 Test

Argentina’s captain Lionel Messi on Sunday refused to show up for the mandatory COVID-19 tests for Barcelona players.

Messi who had notified the club via fax of his decision to leave the Catalonia club will now miss Barca’s pre-season activities.

The Ballon d’Or record holder had informed the club he wants to move away from the Spanish giants, which he joined from childhood.

While other players attended the Ciutat Esportiva training ground for the test, Messi was conspicuously missing.

He was scheduled to appear 10:12am but was nowhere to be seen, fuelling speculation he was going to leave the club.

New Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman will handle his first training session tomorow.

While Messi insists he is a free agent, the club argued he has an existing contract and can only leave upon payment of his $700m release clause.