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Official: Messi won’t start in the Spanish Supercup tonight

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Due to apparent health problems, Lionel Messi is set to miss the Spanish Supercup semifinal against Real Sociedad this evening. 

It’s official, Lionel Messi is set to miss the upcoming Supercup semifinal against Real Sociedad tonight. Ronald Koeman already revealed that Messi had to come out of the game against Granada last week due to muscular pain. Today, we reported how he missed the day’s training before the crucial match.

Finally, the club just confirmed that their captain is set to miss the semifinal with the hopes of recovering in time for next Sunday’s final. That is, of course, if Barcelona can defeat Real Sociedad later today. Not having Leo Messi has proved to be detrimental to FC Barcelona’s chances to win any game. However, Ronald Koeman has done everything in his power to prevent this from happening this season. Recent images show Messi as part of the bench but it’s unclear if he will play during the second half.

Who will take over Messi’s leadership? 

Fortunately, Antoine Griezmann has improved his level of performance in recent weeks and he is the one destined to take Messi’s place. Against Real Sociedad, the French forward will likely get a chance to move freely on the attack. However, there are other players like Frenkie de Jong or Pedri ready to step up in Messi’s absence.

Both midfielders have found consistency in recent months and not having their captain is a perfect opportunity for both. Despite Leo’s absence, the Catalan club is still the favorite to win this semifinal against Real Sociedad. We will see Messi watching from the stands and suffering as any club supporter would during the 90 minutes of the game.

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