Paris St Germain’s football star Lionel Messi and three other players have tested positive for COVID-19, the French Ligue 1 club announced on Sunday.
Argentinean player Messi joined PSG from boyhood club Barcelona in August and he has scored six goals in 16 games in all competitions for the Parisian side.
PSG said in a statement, “The 4 players that tested positive for Covid-19 are Leo Messi, Juan Bernat, Sergio Rico and Nathan Bitumazala. They are currently in isolation and are subject to the appropriate health protocol”.
Neymar JR will continue his treatment in Brazil until 9 January with members of the Paris Saint-Germain medical and performance staff. His return to training is still expected to be in about 3 weeks, it added.
The players tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of trip to the third-tier club Vannes on Monday for a French Cup round-of-32 match.
France recorded 219,126 new confirmed COVID-19 cases in a 24-hour period on Saturday, the fourth consecutive day that the country has reported more than 200,000 cases.