<p>Lionel Messi scored twice on Wednesday as Barcelona beat second-division Girona 3-1 in a preseason friendly.</p>.<p>Messi helped set up Philippe Coutinho, back from his loan at Bayern Munich, for the first goal after 21 minutes.</p>.<p>The Argentine scored his first after 45 minutes, spinning on the edge of the penalty area and drilling a shot in off the base of the far post. He scored his second, with a deflected shot, after 50 minutes.</p>.<p>He went off after an hour.</p>.<p>Messi only returned to training at the start of last week after saying he wanted to leave the club.</p>.<p>Messi started Barcelona's first friendly on Saturday, playing 45 minutes without scoring in a 3-1 victory over third-tier Gimnastica Tarragona.</p>.<p>Earlier on Wednesday, La Liga president Javier Tebas said he was pleased Messi had stayed at Barcelona.</p>.<p>"Messi is important for our competition," said Tebas, at an event to promote the Liga sticker collection. "He is a player who was born in our competition... and hopefully he will finish his career in our league."</p>.<p>Barcelona used 20 players in Wednesday's game at the club's training centre but neither Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez nor Chilean Arturo Vidal appeared.</p>.<p>Barcelona are due to start their league campaign on September 26 or 27 against Villarreal.</p>
<p>Lionel Messi scored twice on Wednesday as Barcelona beat second-division Girona 3-1 in a preseason friendly.</p>.<p>Messi helped set up Philippe Coutinho, back from his loan at Bayern Munich, for the first goal after 21 minutes.</p>.<p>The Argentine scored his first after 45 minutes, spinning on the edge of the penalty area and drilling a shot in off the base of the far post. He scored his second, with a deflected shot, after 50 minutes.</p>.<p>He went off after an hour.</p>.<p>Messi only returned to training at the start of last week after saying he wanted to leave the club.</p>.<p>Messi started Barcelona's first friendly on Saturday, playing 45 minutes without scoring in a 3-1 victory over third-tier Gimnastica Tarragona.</p>.<p>Earlier on Wednesday, La Liga president Javier Tebas said he was pleased Messi had stayed at Barcelona.</p>.<p>"Messi is important for our competition," said Tebas, at an event to promote the Liga sticker collection. "He is a player who was born in our competition... and hopefully he will finish his career in our league."</p>.<p>Barcelona used 20 players in Wednesday's game at the club's training centre but neither Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez nor Chilean Arturo Vidal appeared.</p>.<p>Barcelona are due to start their league campaign on September 26 or 27 against Villarreal.</p>