According to an official statement made by the club, PSG’s forward, Lionel Messi, tested positive for Covid-19 along with three other players in the team.
The three other confirmed Covid-19 cases in PSG are Sergio Rico, Nathan Bitumazala, and Juan Bernat.
The team management indicated that the players who tested positive are currently being isolated and are subject to adequate healthcare.
Based on data provided by the health ministry of France, there have been about 232,200 newly registered Covid-19 cases that took place on Friday, the last day of 2021. This is considered to be the highest number of registered Covid-19 cases in a single day since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
A local DJ, Fer Palacio, from Messi’s hometown has been blamed for infecting the football star with the coronavirus. However, the DJ denied these accusations and reported that he has been receiving death threats from angry fans who believe that he was the reason why Messi got infected with Covid-19.
Messi went back to his hometown, Rosario, in Argentine where attended several parties to celebrate the holidays.
The 31-year-old DJ, Palacio, issued a video recording at which he stated that since PSG confirmed Messi’s infection of the coronavirus, he has been receiving death threats by Messi’s fans who also called him ‘a murdered.’
In an attempt to defend himself, Palacio posted a photo showing that he tested negative for Covid-19 after he was required to take a coronavirus test since he was traveling to Uruguay.
PSG’s first match of 2022, which took place on Monday, was played without Messi because he remained in Argentina for insolation in compliance with the health protocol.
Nonetheless, PSG’s management confirmed that Messi has been in touch with their medical staff and that he will travel back to France as soon as he tests negative for the coronavirus.
Despite Messi’s absence, PSG secured an easy victory over fourth-tier Vannes in the last 32 of the French Cup. On that night, PSG’s striker, Kylian Mbappe, scored a hat-trick which greatly contributed to PSG’s victory. Pochettino expressed his thrill at Mbappe’s performance in the absence of Messi and said that his work helped the team achieve a victory worthy of the club’s reputation.
