The Camp Nou is prepared for a golden night. The crowd are looking forward to seeing their star showing them the great award he won in Paris; the Argentinian is desperate to play again and show off his skills. He has more than enough incentives.
And even though the opponents deserve the greatest of respect, the fact they are just outside the bottom three is seen as an ideal opportunity to celebrate the Argentine's sixth Ballon d'Or in style.
The joyous atmosphere after Messi's award means the Barca-Mallorca game will have more media attention than usual. It has already been the case. If it was not already clear, the club posted images on social media of him being congratulated by his teammates on Thursday.
And the thing is that Barca, on social media, shared a video of him enjoying himself in training and scoring great goals. A warning sign for the islanders on Saturday.
December 5, 2019
The truth is that this prize, which a few weeks ago look set to be clearly for Van Dijk, has revitalising the Barca dressing room. They know that their star man is happy and any challenge is possible.
So, as well as the hunger the Argentine can show against Mallorca, he is in a good moment for the team to perform. For example, his link up play with Griezmann, something, they are yet to do so far this year.
Another man: Ivan Rakitic: The Croat has started the last two matches and it seems like he is getting back to normal after a sad first quarter to the season. The club also strategically used his Twitter account: they showed a photo of him smiling.
Messi seems to be very happy and he showed what he can do at the Wanda against Atletico. When the man from Rosario is in the mood, there is no stopping him.