Despite conceding the Barcelona legend’s summer exit was ‘difficult to digest’, Sergio Busquets hopes it won’t affect the club’s European ambitions.
Sergio Busquets insists Barcelona can still compete in the Champions League despite Lionel Messi’s departure.
The Blaugrana are unbeaten in their first four La Liga games of the post-Messi era. Three wins and a draw have left them three points behind table-toppers Real Madrid in seventh-place, albeit with a game in hand.
On Tuesday, however, Barcelona have their first real test without Messi by facing Bayern Munich in their Champions League Group E opener at Camp Nou.
“Anything can happen in football,” said Busquets as per Marca, when asked if European glory is possible with no Messi. “Chelsea won the Champions League last season and were not favorites.
“The important thing is the collective level, and we know that we do not have Leo or his individual qualities. We are here, excited and aware of the difficulty, but we have a lot of ambition.”
Messi’s exit was ‘difficult to digest’
Messi, on the other hand, could make his Champions League debut for Paris Saint-Germain in Wednesday’s trip to Club Brugge in Group A.
“It was a shock, for everything that Leo gave to Barca and personally to me,” Busquets admitted on his friend’s summer exit. It was an accumulation of emotions that were difficult to digest, but we have to try to change the story. We are at the beginning of the season and we’ll have to get used to playing without Leo.”
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