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LIONEL MESSI returned to action today in the Barcelona jersey for the first time since trying to leave the club earlier this summer.
The 33-year-old shocked the football world last month when he expressed his desire to leave the Camp Nou.
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But having made a dramatic U-turn on the play, deciding that he didn’t have the heart to bring his beloved club onto the pitch to force his out, Messi returned to training on Monday.
And new boss Ronald Koeman chose to pick him early on when his team beat Gimnastic 3-1 in the late-summer sun.
But it was a trio of Messi’s teammates with points to show that they were on the score sheet.
Ousmane Dembélé put Barça 1-0 up with just six minutes on the clock.
And Antoine Griezmann doubled his lead from the penalty spot 11 minutes later.
Javi Bonilla brought the Spanish minnows back into the game shortly after, and Messi retired at half-time.
Philippe Coutinho, a former Liverpool star, who returned from his loan at Bayern Munich, made it 3-1 from 12 yards six minutes into the second half.
Messi has done everything possible to make up for lost time this week, after skipping the start of Barcelona’s preseason.
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The Argentine showed up for training an hour and a half early on Monday, and was also the first to arrive on Tuesday and Wednesday.
He then trained on the team’s day off Thursday in an attempt to catch up.
And the legendary No10 assured fans: “My attitude will not change because I wanted to leave. I will give it my all.”
Barcelona will kick off their LaLiga campaign in fifteen days, having had extra time to recover after their now infamous run in the Champions League.
Messi will also be in action for his country next month, after CONMEBOL lifted an international suspension.
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