Barcelona, Real Madrid Players Return To Training After Winter Break

Barcelona and Real Madrid return to training after their winter break ahead of a crucial run of fixtures in 2017.

Barcelona hosted an open training session at the Nou Camp ahead of their Copa del Rey clash with Athletic Bilbao on Thursday.

The locals flocked to watch the likes of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar being put through their paces by boss Luis Enrique. The squad will get their first taste of La Liga action on Sunday away at Villarreal, which is live on Sky Sports 2.

Meanwhile, Barca’s great rivals Real Madrid also seemed in good spirits after their Christmas and new year break.

They were in training ahead of their fifth round Copa del Rey encounter with rivals Sevilla on Wednesday.

Cristiano Ronaldo was included in the session but is set to be rested for the match with Saturday’s game with Granada pencilled in for his first start of 2017, which is live on Sky Sports 2.

Ronaldo’s men are currently top of the La Liga table, three points clear of Barcelona.

SKYSPORT