Lionel Messi has begun pre-season training by himself in Argentina, in preparation to then join his Barcelona teammates later in the summer.
Taking a short holiday in his hometown Rosario after Argentina’s quarter-final elimination from the Copa America, Messi has now met up with Barcelona fitness Coach Juanjo Brau to begin preparations for the new campaign.
The FIFA Ballon d’Or holder, who scored a club record 53 goals last term – also a Spanish League player record held with Cristiano Ronaldo – will then join the Barca squad as they start their planned tour of the USA.
Brau is one of the club’s top fitness trainers, working with players to not only recover from long-term injuries, but to avoid them, and he is heralded as one of those chiefly responsible for the absence of injuries to Messi. He has also accompanied Messi on some of the player’s international trips with the Argentina national side, something that the AFA are happy with.
Brau joins Messi after a short holiday himself, having previously been working intensively through the summer with Carles Puyol. The defender underwent knee surgery on June 1 but has subsequently been able to return to training ahead of schedule.
