Barcelona's dismay at losing 2-0 at AC Milan in Wednesday's Champions League last-16 first leg was offset on Thursday by the news that defender Eric Abidal had been cleared to play after almost a year out to undergo a liver transplant.
The 32-year-old Messi scored 24 goals this season in all competitions before the coronavirus pandemic brought the football season to a standstill.
Former France defender Eric Abidal, who returned to playing after undergoing a liver transplant in April 2012, announced on Friday he was ending his career for 'personal reasons'.
The Argentine's representatives and Barcelona did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Popular former France defender Eric Abidal fought back tears on Thursday as he announced he would be ending his six-year spell with Barcelona when his contract expires at the end of the season.
As well as putting Barcelona a step closer to winning La Liga, Saturday's 1-0 home win over Levante showed that defender Eric Abidal is fit enough to play a full match after making a remarkable recovery from a liver transplant.
Barcelona defender Eric Abidal is training in the Pyrenees mountains following a liver transplant in April, the La Liga club said on Tuesday.
Barcelona defender Eric Abidal is to have a liver transplant, the Spanish and European champions said on Thursday.
Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu's remarks come amid severe speculation around Messi's future at the club.
World and European champions Spain dominated the shortlist for the Player of the Year award announced on Tuesday with seven players among the 23 nominees.
Barcelona have strengthened their defence and found a replacement for Eric Abidal by sealing an agreement with Valencia to sign Spain fullback Jordi Alba on a five-year contract.
Eric Abidal netted a rare but superbly-taken goal to give Barcelona a 2-1 comeback win at holders Real Madrid in a King's Cup quarter-final first leg.
Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema was named French player of the year by France Football magazine on Tuesday.
France fullback Eric Abidal wants to stay at Barcelona for two more seasons and is looking to wrap up a deal at a meeting with club officials on Thursday.
France captain Patrice Evra and Nicolas Anelka were among five players summoned on Friday for a disciplinary hearing for their part in Les Bleus' mutiny during the World Cup, the French Football Federation (FFF) said.
France face an embarrassing early World Cup exit after a surprise 2-0 defeat to Mexico in their second Group A game on Thursday.
Striker Nicolas Anelka has been banned for 18 games by the French team after the players' World Cup revolt, the French Football Federation (FFF) said on Tuesday.
Eric Abidal crowned a superb defensive display with a rare goal to help Barcelona to a 1-1 draw at Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday and put the La Liga leaders through to the quarter-finals of the King's Cup on away goals.
For all the talk of their devastating attacking capabilities, Barcelona and Manchester United must sort out defensive worries for Wednesday's Champions League final.
Manchester United's Darren Fletcher and Barcelona pair Eric Abidal and Daniel Alves will miss the Champions League final after UEFA said on Monday there were no grounds for overturning their suspensions.
Barcelona and France defender Eric Abidal, who had surgery on a liver tumour in March, is hoping to be back to full fitness for the Champions League final at the end of this month.
Unlucky Barcelona defender Eric Abidal will miss both the UEFA Champions League and the King's Cup finals after picking up two red cards in five days. The French full back was sent off in the second half of Barca's Champions League semi-final second leg against Chelsea last Wednesday, after the referee harshly ruled that he had tripped Nicolas Anelka.
Under the terms of the contract which expires in 2021, the only way Messi can leave without the club's consent is if a rival side pays his release clause of 700 million euros (629.7 million pounds).
World champions Italy beat 10-man France 2-0 in Group C on Tuesday to qualify for the quarter-finals of Euro 2008. It was a nightmare of a match for France who lost Franck Ribery to a suspected broken leg and had Eric Abidal sent off before half-time as they were eliminated from the competition.
Barcelona will field dynamic duo Ronaldinho and Thierry Henry in tandem for the first time in the Champions League against Olympique Lyon.
Olympique Lyon are suing soccer's world governing body over an injury sustained by defender Eric Abidal in a friendly international.
Messi has been linked with a move away from the Camp Nou at the end of the season after he caused a stir by criticising the club's sporting director Eric Abidal
The departing directors had criticised the club's handling of a social media scandal and expressed doubts about the board's ability to handle the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to a 70% players' pay cut.
Barcelona great Xavi Hernandez has said it is his dream to coach his former side
Dutchman Ronald Koeman has signed a two-year-deal with Barcelona.
Lionel Messi, 33, has been the team's spiritual leader throughout that time but the catalogue of failures in Europe has made the previously unthinkable scenario that he could leave Barca, where he has spent most his life, seem ever more plausible.
In a YouTube video post, Anelka said Houllier's comments were "of a racist nature" and he alleged that "it (was) not the first time".
The win increased Zinedine Zidane's side's advantage at the top of the standings to six points
Barcelona will meet Manchester United in the Champions League quarter-finals following the draw on Friday while Manchester City face Tottenham Hotspur in an all-Premier League clash.
Olympiakos Piraeus secured a surprise 3-2 victory over last year's Champions League runners-up Atletico Madrid to make a dream start to their Group A campaign on Tuesday.
Real Madrid were dumped out of the Copa del Rey at the quarter-final stage on Thursday after losing 4-3 at home to Real Sociedad, while record 30-times winners Barcelona were sent crashing out of the Copa del Rey in a 1-0 defeat at Athletic Bilbao.
Centre-back Eric Abidal and midfielder Samir Nasri were missing when France coach Didier Deschamps named a 24-man squad on Thursday for next week's friendly against the Netherlands.
A superb strike from Jose Luis Morales condemned Real Madrid to a 1-0 defeat away to Levante on Saturday which saw them unseated at the top of the La Liga standings by Barcelona. Real's problems deepened with a suspected ankle injury to Eden Hazard, who limped off the pitch four days before their Champions League showdown with Manchester City and a week before their showdown with Barca in the 'Clasico'. Real's problems deepened with a suspected ankle injury to Eden Hazard, who limped off the pitch four days before their Champions League showdown with Manchester City and a week before their showdown with Barca in the 'Clasico'.
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