Ibrahimovic And Messi Given Gamper Green Light

Aug 18, 2009 1:27:52 PM

Barcelona fans are set to see Ibrahimovic for the first time...

Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Lionel Messi have both been told that they can play in Barcelona's prestigious pre-season encounter with Manchester City on Wednesday evening.

The pair were examined by the club's medics and given the green light to appear in the annual Trofeo Joan Gamper game, which is expected to draw a capacity crowd to Camp Nou, according to the official Barca website.

It will be the Blaugrana's first chance to see Ibrahimovic in action since he joined the club last month in a highly-publicised swap deal that saw Samuel Eto'o head to Inter.

After signing for Barca, the Swedish striker was told that the club wanted him to have his broken hand operated on to ensure that it mended correctly, and this has delayed his debut.

Having travelled with the squad on tour to the United States, Ibrahimovic is now ready to participate in his first game and that will ensure that the remaining tickets are sold.

Despite being the middle of August, when Barcelona empties for the month as the majority of people go on holiday, the attraction of seeing both the new arrival and Messi will draw many back for the Manchester City match.

Messi has been suffering from a muscle strain that he picked up in training with the Argentina squad ahead of their friendly in Moscow last week.

Lucas Brown, Goal.com

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