Barca Are Broken After Messi Exit, Pique Admits
Barcelona defeated Juventus 3-0 to win the Joan Gamper trophy on Sunday but Gerard Pique has admitted the team are ‘a bit broken’ because of the departure of Lionel Messi.
Messi has ended a 21-year association with the Blaugrana and is expected to sign for Paris Saint Germain in the coming days.
The 34-year-old said goodbye to the club in a tearful press conference earlier on Sunday before the game against the Italian side.
Goals from Memphis Depay, Martin Braithwaite and Riqui Puig did the damage against Juventus but Pique is already dreading the impact Messi’s departure could have on the club in the long-term.
“The team was honestly a bit broken because of Messi's departure, we will lose magic in attack, but we have to move forward, the fans expect a lot from us,” the former Spain defender said after the game.
“We lose the best player of all time. It has hurt us and it hurt him too. I don't know the whole story, the two parties have said that it has been a matter of numbers... The management of the last years hasn't helped, but history shows that we will get up.
“People really want to come to the stadium and we have to cheer the fans. We have to start winning and give them nice things. We need the fans with us.”
Messi made 778 appearances for Barcelona after making his debut in 2003 and is the club’s all-time top scorer with 672 goals. He won 35 trophies with the club including four UEFA Champions League trophies and 10 La Liga titles.
