Barcelona supporters hoping to see the club's superstars in Dublin will be disappointed after the club confirmed that 17 of their first-team squad will not be travelling to face Celtic at the Aviva Stadium.
The Spanish giants take on the Scottish champions in Dublin on 30 July as part of 2016 International Champions Cup pre-season tournament, but will be shorn of most of their big name players.
The likes of Messi, Neymar, Andres Iniesta, Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, Javier Mascherano, Claudio Bravo and Jordi Alba will all be absent as they do not return to training until 1 August after being handed an extended break following their international commitments.
New signings Lucas Digne and Samuel Umtiti will also be absent for Barcelona but former Liverpool star Luis Suarez will make the trip after Uruguay's early exit from the Copa America sees him return to pre-season training ahead of schedule.
Celtic also look likely to name an unfamiliar team for the game as they are currently involved in the qualification rounds of the Champions League.
The Bhoys recovered from a shock 1-0 defeat in their second round, first leg game with Gibraltar side Lincoln Red Imps to progress through to the second round 3-1 on aggregate.
Brendan Rodgers charges will now face an arduous trip to face Kazakhstan side Astana on 27 July before they meet them in the second leg at Parkhead on 2 August.
With the game with Barcelona sandwiched between their qualifiers, Rodgers looks set to take the chance to give some of his more fringe players a run-out.
