Buenos Aires, May 28 (EFE).- National soccer team captain Lionel Messi arrived on Tuesday in Argentina, where he will join the squad as it prepares to compete in the Copa America in Brazil next month.
The FC Barcelona superstar’s private plane landed at Islas Malvinas International Airport in Rosario, where his family will stay while Messi practices with the team in Buenos Aires, media outlets reported.
Heavy fog, however, delayed Messi’s arrival at Ministro Pistarini International Airport in Ezeiza, the biggest airport in the Greater Buenos Aireas area and located close to the national soccer team’s practice facility.
The daily La Capital reported that Messi’s wife, Antonela Roccuzzo, and his young sons, Thiago, Mateo and Ciro, got off in Rosario, while the soccer superstar stayed on the private plane awaiting clearance for the flight to Buenos Aires.
Messi’s plane was finally able to take off and fly to the Argentine capital.
The national team captain posted a photo on his Instagram account showing him sitting on the plane.
The majority of the team’s players are in the country and practiced in the fog at the Argentine Soccer Association complex in Ezeiza.
The squad began practicing on Monday with 11 players taking the field under national team coach Lionel Scaloni and national teams director Cesar Luis Menotti.
The 31-year-old Messi, who played in Barcelona’s 2-1 loss to Valencia in the Copa del Rey final on Saturday; defender German Pezzella; midfielders Angel Di Maria and Marcos Acuña; and forwards Lautaro Martinez and Paulo Dybala are scheduled to report to practice on Tuesday.
Messi scored Barcelona’s lone goal against Valencia in the 73rd minute, tapping the ball home after a header by Lenglet had struck the right upright.
Argentina will play a farewell friendly against Nicaragua on June 7 in the western city of San Juan before heading to