FILE – Paris Saint-Germain’s Argentinian forward Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring his team’s second goal during the UEFA Champions League first round group A football match between Paris Saint-Germain’s (PSG) and Manchester City. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)
Paris St Germain forward Lionel Messi and three other players have tested positive for COVID-19, the French Ligue 1 club said on Sunday.
Argentina international Messi joined from boyhood club Barcelona in August and the 34-year-old has scored six goals in 16 games in all competitions for the Parisian side.
Defender Juan Bernat, back-up goalkeeper Sergio Rico and midfielder Nathan Bitumazala were the other players who returned positive tests.
Tests carried out during the winter break and before the resumption of training revealed 4 positive cases for Covid-19 among the players and 1 positive case among the staff. The people concerned are subject to the Covid protocols.
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) January 2, 2022
PSG said in a statement that the four players were currently in isolation and subject to the appropriate health protocols.
France reported 219,126 new confirmed COVID-19 cases in a 24-hour period on Saturday, the fourth day in a row that the country has recorded more than 200,000 cases.
France has joined the United States, India, Brazil, Britain and Russia in having had more than 10 million cases.
PSG is top of the Ligue 1 standings on 46 points after 19 matches, 13 points above second-placed Nice.
They are due to travel to third-tier club Vannes on Monday for a French Cup round-of-32 match.