This archive report was first published on 8 May 2020.
La Liga's plan to restart football in Spain took a step forward on Friday as Barcelona returned to training. The La Liga champions allowed their stars to enter the Joan Gamper training centre to prepare for a potential restart.
Lionel Messi and other players took individual sessions, arriving alone in kit and taking to the three pitches without passing through the changing rooms. As well as doing their routines, they were also subjected to tests to see what effect two months of coronavirus quarantine had on their bodies.
"Finally we are getting back to normal. We hope to carry on and that soon we can get back to enjoying what we like to do most," Arturo Vidal told sports daily Marca.
Sevilla, Villarreal, Osasuna, and Leganes also returned to training, while Real Madrid will likely start again on Monday should their players pass virus tests carried out on Wednesday. The Spanish government's plan to end quarantine for professional players has paved the way for the return to training.
Individual training sessions are the first step to what La Liga hopes will be a return to action in June that will complete the 2019-20 season behind closed doors. The league's four-phase de-escalation programme will allow for a gradual return to larger team sessions.
League president Javier Tebas has said it is not an option to cancel the season, estimating it would cost clubs around a billion euros ($1.08 billion). On Thursday, Leganes coach Javier Aguirre said La Liga will resume on June 20 and end on July 26, although league bosses refused to confirm his claim.
