Barcelona face punishment from Lionel Messi, while Wantaway star snubs return to training

Lionel Messi’s bid to force a trade to Manchester City is set to accelerate this week when his father Jorge meets with Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu.

Relations between the best player in the world and the fallen Spanish champions will deteriorate further, as Barca has the right to punish Messi for missing his return to training on Monday.

The 33-year-old turned down Monday afternoon’s training session with new boss Ronald Koeman after missing the club’s coronavirus tests, conducted on Sunday.

But Barça know that if they punish their star man, they could push the row past the point of no return.

Messi is deepening his position that he no longer needs to train at a club where he no longer has a contract.

His lawyers say a well-documented clause allowed him to go for naught if he asked before June 10, but that the date is now irrelevant due to the coronavirus.

Without a coronavirus test, you won’t be able to train with your teammates anyway, which means you can’t prepare with them for the new season.

Barça, meanwhile, have the backing of La Liga, which uphold Messi’s contract, who has a year ahead of him, and that staggering £ 623m buyout clause can still be enforced.

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As such, Messi would continue to be the captain of the Spanish club and missing two instructions to join the team is equivalent to a serious offense according to the collective agreement of the League and the Association of Spanish Footballers (AFE).

Messi’s father, Jorge, will meet with Bartomeu on Wednesday when the situation is expected to clear up.

But Messi’s cousin, Maximiliano Biancucchi Cuccittini, has urged Barça to allow him to go to Manchester.

Cuccittini said: “You have to find the place where you can be happy. If he had been happy in Barcelona, ​​he would have stayed there. She no longer has that happiness there and wants to find a new direction. You have the right to do so.

“I would like to see him in a team that plays well. I am passionate about good football.

“Of all the teams that have been suggested, I think Manchester City would be a good fit. Another would be PSG, but we will have to wait, and wherever he goes he will be happy and have peace ”.