Barcelona superstar announces birth of third child

Barcelona face Malaga in LaLiga on Saturday night and they must do so without star man Lionel Messi, who sits out the trip due to personal reasons.

Coach Ernesto Valverde was expected to rotate his side ahead of Tuesday's Champions League return game with Chelsea, although it wasn't certain that the Argentine would be among those resting.

The call was made at the last minute due to the birth of his third son, Ciro, with Yerry Mina taking Messi's place in the matchday squad.

"Welcome Ciro!" wrote the player on Instagram.

"Thank God everything went perfect. Mom and child are very well. We are super happy !!!!![sic]."

Until now, Messi had participated in every LaLiga fixture this season, starting in all but one game, the Catalan derby at Espanyol.