It's been widely reported that Barcelona has been pressuring Messi into not participating in the upcoming Olympic Games because of the teams Champions League preliminary games that will take place at the same time as the Olympics. It seemed that the issue was settled when FIFA issued a communique last week stating that all club teams must release their players that are under 23 years old that are selected by their national teams to participate in the Olympics.
But, now the new Barcelona manager was quoted as saying that there has not been a final resolution in the Messi situation and that he expects FIFA to side with Barcelona and for Messi to stay with the team instead of going to the Olympics.
The Argentina FA President said that FIFA's rules are clearly on the national team's side and that he fully expects Messi to participate in the Olympics.
Barcelona begins its pre-season training next Monday and Messi is not expected to be there. Or will Lio be there and miss out on the Olympics in order to avoid a big conflict with his club team?