The Reason Why Lionel Messi Has Asked Barcelona Not To Play

As well as playing in Argentina's recent World Cup qualifiers against Bolivia and Ecuador, the 30-year-old has helped Barcelona reach the top of La Liga with 11 goals and two assists.

Because of his recent busy schedule, Messi has reportedly asked manager Ernesto Valverde to leave him out of a number of Barcelona games in the near future,

The report states that Messi feels like a rest in the upcoming Copa del Rey round of 32 games against Real Murcia on Tuesday evening.

To be fair, Messi has been at his scintillating best in recent months, and realistically, the club will be able to rest the five time Ballon d'Or winner against the Segunda División B side.


Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde': will be eager to get Messi back on the field though. In an interview via ESPN, he said that he hopes Messi 'reaches 200 goals this season'. No pressure, then:

"I hope he reaches 200 goals this season. "His numbers validate what we see every day, he's beating statistics that seemed impossible. He's been doing it for a long time now, constantly breaking down barriers."

During Barcelona's Champions League tie against Olympiakos, Messi was spotted taking a tablet from his sock, but Valverde is not worried about the incident, saying:

"I don't know if he took a glucose tablet. If it made him score a goal, then he should take a load of them... But I do know the players do take glucose.
"I don't know if the fans are enamoured with me just yet. It's true the results are good. We are top of La Liga, top of our Champions League group... But tomorrow's another day, Saturday's another game. The dynamic can change, football's fanciful like that.

"In August, after the Super Cup [defeat to Real Madrid], we were no good, now we are... So we are going to cross our fingers and keep working hard."