Messi Olympic Presence Difficult - Batista


Sergio Batista has named the diminutive forward in his squad for the event and expected the player to be allowed to go without any problems as he is under 23.

BUt Barcelona insist that they do not have to allow Messi to play because they require him for the Champions League qualifiers and the Olympics is not a FIFA tournament.

Nevertheless, talks are ongoing and Batista hopes that the situation can be resolved so that the forward either joins his squad or that he calls a replacement.

"We hope to have it solved quickly so that Messi can join us, but it will not be easy because the people at Barcelona continue to insist that he will not be allowed to come," the trainer explained.

FIFA, the Argentinian Football Federation (AFA) and the Blaugrana are locked in talks to resolve the issue while Messi has travelled to Scotland with the rest of Pep Guardiola's squad for a pre-season training camp.

The AFA included the 21-year-old in their plans for the flight to Japan on Tuesday, but he has not used them and will not appear in the friendly encounter against the Japanese.