COVID-19 forces Ronaldo out of Champions League reunion with Messi

JUVENTUS star Cristiano Ronaldo will not face his arch-rival  Lionel Messi on Wednesday night due to another positive COVID-19 test.

The Italian club are scheduled to play Barcelona in a UEFA Champions League fixture in Turin, which would have been a reunion of the two superstars.

The Portuguese forward had initially tested positive on 13 October and has been self-isolating but he returned another positive result last week.

However, Sky Italy reported on Tuesday night that Ronaldo did not test negative just a day before kick-off, missing a key requirement of governing body UEFA.

Ronaldo’s absence will deprive fans of a reunion of the world’s best two players of the last decade who used to face off regularly when the Portugal captain was still playing in Spain with Real Madrid.

The last time Ronaldo and Messi met in the Champions League was in the 2010/2011 semi-finals when the Argentina captain inspired Barcelona to the final and their second title in three seasons.

This will be a big blow to Juventus who have struggled lately without their top scorer: they have drawn their last two Serie A matches with Hellas Verona and promoted Crotone.

Barcelona’s form is also not great, having lost El Clasico at home to Real Madrid over the weekend and seeing their president Josep Bartomeu and the club’s entire board resign from their positions on Tuesday night.