Barcelona's Lionel Messi celebrates scoring their third goal against Girona at the Johan Cruyff Stadium, Barcelona September 16, 2020. — Reuters pic
Messi helped set up Philippe Coutinho, back from his loan at Bayern Munich, for the first goal after 21 minutes. Messi started Barcelona’s first friendly on Saturday, playing 45 minutes without scoring in a 3-1 victory over third-tier Gimnastica Tarragona. “Messi is important for our competition,” said Tebas, at an event to promote the Liga sticker collection. “He is a player who was born in our competition... and hopefully he will finish his career in our league.”