Juventus striker, Cristiano Ronaldo has been ruled out of Wednesday’s Champions League match against Barcelona after testing positive for coronavirus for the third time. 

The Portuguese international, 35, has been self-isolating since he tested positive while on international duty with Portugal on October 13. He returned another positive result last week, and was made to take another test ahead of Juventus’ clash against Barcelona on Wednesday

According to Sky Italy, Ronaldo failed to test negative 24 hours ahead of kick-off, as required by UEFA in order to play, meaning his potential reunion with Lionel Messi will not happen tomorrow. 

The arch-rivals, who both have 11 Ballon D’or titles between them (Ronaldo, 5, Messi, 6), have not faced each other in the Champions League since the semi-final between Real Madrid and Barcelona in the 2011-12 season.

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Cristiano Ronaldo tests positive for COVID-19 for the third time, ruling him out of Champions League clash with rival Lionel Messi