BARCELONA have become the latest club to be hit by the coronavirus outbreak with Lionel Messi and his teammates entering quarantine.
The news came just a day after rivals Real Madrid’s squad were also put on lockdown after a basketball player tested positive for the deadly bug at their training HQ.
Spanish giants Barcelona are the latest team to be quarantined by the coronavirusCredit: Reuters
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The Spanish top-flight and second division have now been suspended in a desperate bid to stop coronavirus spreading.
Following the news that LaLiga was shelved for two-game weeks, Barcelona confirmed that it will also cancel all first-team activity.
Infobae claim that Quique Setien’s players will instead continue training in their homes with specific work overseen by the club’s personal trainers.
A statement from Barcelona read: “Given the health situation and following the recommendations of the Club’s medical managers, the first soccer team suspends all its activity until further notice.
“This decision was made after the meeting held this morning by the first football team with President Josep Maria Bartomeu, Dr. Jaume Padros and Dr Antoni Trilla.”
Spain currently has more than 4,000 people infected with Covid-19 and more than 90 of those have already died.
The world of sport is currently reeling from the impact of the deadly bug — now officially declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation.
The Premier League and EFL have postponed all games until at least April 3 while Champions League and Europa League matches have also been scrapped.
The Masters, the first golf major of the year, has been postponed while England’s cricket tour of Sri Lanka has been abandoned.
Formula 1, which was due to get its 2020 under way in Melbourne this weekend, has axed the first four races of the season.
It comes as Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and Chelsea forward Callum Hudson-Odoi tested positive for coronavirus.
Premier League and EFL suspended for three weeks over coronavirus after crisis talks
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
