Manchester United vs Barcelona: Lionel Messi Out of Squad
Manchester United will play Barcelona in a rematch of the 2011 Champions League Final on Saturday night at the FedEx Field.
The highly anticipated match will be missing the world’s best player, however, as Lionel Messi has been left out of the Barcelona squad so he can rest following participating in Argentina’s failed bid to win the Copa America earlier this month.
Some had thought that because Argentina had been surprisingly knocked out in the quarter finals of the Copa America, Messi would be available for the exhibition friendly against the English Premier League champions. However, Messi was left out of the 25-player squad released by the Spanish giants.
Barcelona’s other South American players involved in the Copa America were also left out: Brazil’s Dani Alves, Chilean wing Alexis Sanchez; Argentina’s Javier Mascherano and Gabriel Milito; and Brazil’s Adriano Correia.
However, such is the depth of the talent of the world’s best team, as well as the pedigree of the English champions that a football spectacle can still be expected.
Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov, Pedro, David Villa, Nemanja Vidic, Eric Abidal and Gerard Pique are just some of the world class names expected to take part in the match.
The kick is scheduled for 7.00 p.m.
The starting line-ups have been released as follows:
Barcelona Starting XI: Valdes; Fontas, Abidal, Alcantara, Keita; Busquets, Iniesta, dos Santos; Villa, Pedro, Afellay. Subs: Pinto, Masip, Balliu, Pique, Puyol, Xavi, Suarez, Riverola, Cabelino, Lozano, Muniesa, Carmona, Espinosa, Cuenca
Manchester United Starting XI: De Gea; Evra, Vidic, Evans, Rafael; Cleverly, Anderson, Young, Nani; Rooney, Welbeck. Subs: Lindegaard, Amos, Jones, Ferdinand, Smalling, Fabio, Obertan, Owen, Giggs, Carrick, Park, Diouf, Berbatov, Macheda
