Lionel Messi to miss crucial clash against Real Madrid for Argentina

Lionel Messi to miss the first El Clasico for duties with Argentina.

It looks like Lionel Messi may miss out upon the first El Clasico of the 2020/21 season as he may be busy with the FIFA World Cup 2022 Qualifiers. The Argentine forward will be most certainly called up for the matches against Ecuador and Bolivia and Messi himself will also be very willing to go as the 2022 World Cup in Qatar might be his last chance to win the coveted trophy and cement his legacy as one of the greatest who ever played the game.

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Although FIFA were wary about the Coronavirus situation in South America, Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, later confirmed that European clubs will be forced to let their players go and play for their national teams. Thus Barcelona cannot even use pandemic as an excuse to keep Messi in Spain. The matches against the aforementioned countries were supposed to be played in March but have now been shifted to the second week of October.

Should Messi go to South America, he will certainly have to remain in quarantine when he returns back to Europe. He will thus be missing out on the first match against arch-rivals, Real Madrid, which is set to take place on the 25th of October. Not only will he miss out on the derby, but he will also have to sit out matches against Getafe and Deportivo Alaves.

The situation in South America is not quite good at the moment and in Argentina is one of the worst-hit countries. The cases are rapidly increasing and the Argentinian league is yet to start due to the COVID-19 situation. The full list of the selected players will be announced on the 20th of September and should Messi’s name be on the list, he will certainly miss out on some crucial fixtures at the beginning of the new season.

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