Difficult to digest Lionel Messi leaving but we have to try to change story, admits Sergio Busquets
Barcelona’s Sergio Busquets has confessed that while it was difficult to digest the fact that Lionel Messi left the club, they now need to change the narrative around the Camp Nou and move on. The Argentine left the La Liga giants after spending well over two decades with them, signing for PSG.
Despite coming to an agreement, Barcelona’s financial state meant that the club had to say goodbye to Lionel Messi with the forward eventually signing for Paris Saint-Germain. However, since the 34-year-old’s move as a free-agent, the Camp Nou side have managed to move on at a steady pace with an unbeaten start to their league season. But the loss of Messi has been felt all across the club especially ahead of the club’s first Champions League game without their club legend.
That has been felt all across with fans, club legends and even current players with many still reeling from the Argentine’s loss. Yet while Sergio Busquets admitted that the loss of Messi was a shock for him, they need to move on and recover for the betterment of the club.. He also added that the club need to get used to “playing without Leon” and they need to “change the story”.Â
"It was a shock, for everything that Leo gave to Barca and personally to me. 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,” Busquets said, reported Goal.
The Catalan giants face Bayern Munich in their very first Champions League group stage game without Messi and it has many concerned that the club won’t be able to handle it. That is especially given their struggles over the last few years with the Argentine but Busquets added that the club knows the challenge and they still want to win.
"Anything can happen in football. Chelsea won the Champions League last season and were not favourites. 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 and we want to win,” he added.