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Spain: Messi left out of Barcelona squad after confusion over status [Sat Aug 27th, 2005]
Madrid (Reuters) - Barcelona have left Argentine youngster Lionel Messi out of the squad to play Alaves in their opening league game of the season because of doubts over his status as a so-called "assimilated" player.
The 18-year-old forward, who recently made his debut for the Argentine senior side, was thought to have been classed as a European Union player because he has come up through Barcelona's youth ranks.
But Barca said they had decided not to include him in the squad because the new regulations allowing for assimilated players had not yet been ratified by the Spanish Sports Council.
Under Spanish Football Federation rules, each Primera Liga club is permitted to have a maximum of three non-European Union players on their books.
Barcelona's three berths are already occupied by Brazil forward Ronaldinho, Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o and Mexican defender Rafael Marquez.
Messi joined Barcelona in 2003 and has played for the club's reserves for the last two seasons. He was top scorer when Argentina won the World Youth Cup in Holland in June.
He was called up for the full national side for this month's friendly against Hungary but was sent off within two minutes of stepping on to the pitch after elbowing an opponent who had been pulling at his shirt.
Frequently compared with the young Diego Maradona, Messi had a brilliant game in Barcelona's final pre-season warm-up against Juventus.
His performance prompted Juve coach Fabio Capello to say: "He's got an extraordinary future ahead of him. I've never seen a player with such quality."
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