The Barcelona squad held a special open-doors training session earlier today at the 13,200-seater Miniestadi, which was packed to capacity for the occasion. Tickets to see Tata Martino's men in action sold out an hour before the session kicked off and the terraces were overflowing with people of all ages – particularly kids – eager to feast their eyes on Messi, Neymar, Iniesta, Valdés and co. in person. You could call it an early Three Kings' present ahead of Monday's holiday.
Carles Puyol sat out what was a gentle, festive session with gastroenteritis, though he did report to the Camp Nou to do some solo work. Depending on his progress, the centre-back could be back in full training on Saturday, ahead of Elche's visit to the Camp Nou. Another absentee was Dani Alves, who is suffering from flu, but should be available to Martino tomorrow.
The practice game ended in a 4-4 draw and Messi looked in fine fettle, notching up a hat-trick.
Javier Mascherano expressed his delight with the occasion afterwards. "We don't get to share our training sessions with the fans during the year, so it's always very special", the Argentine raved, before stating that Leo Messi is "in great shape; we knew he'd had a good 'pre-season' in Argentina".
Cesc Fàbregas, meanwhile, said it was a "very special day for everyone associated with Barcelona. Messi is fine now, but he'll be taking things slowly; we can't heap all the responsibility and pressure on him right away".