Madrid
With or without Lionel Messi, Barcelona already know they will start their season at home against Villarreal at the end of September.
La Liga announced its calendar on Monday, and the first round is scheduled for the second weekend of September. But Barca, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla who played later into this past season as they participated in the last stages of the Champions League and Europa League will have some of their games postponed so they have time to prepare.
All matches will continue to be played in empty stadiums. The league hoped at least some fans would be allowed into matches, but Spain has been struggling to contain a new surge of coronavirus cases.
Messi, who last week told Barca he wants to leave, skipped the team’s first day of training on Monday at the club’s Ciutat Esportiva training ground, where Ronald Koeman held a session at 5:30pm, his first since being appointed Barca coach. He had already been a no-show on Sunday as the squad underwent coronavirus testing at the club’s training centre.
Messi wants to leave on a clause that allows him to leave for free at the end of the season, but Barca said that clause has expired. They want the Argentine great to stay at least until the end of his contract in June 2021.
There is no sign of how long the dispute is going to last, as neither the club nor the player appear to be willing to make concessions.—AFP
