Barca is still adjusting to life without Lionel Messi, who shockingly departed for PSG this summer. Nevertheless, there are still high hopes for the club as they look to capture a La Liga title and conquer Europe. Veteran midfielder Sergio Busquets has all the belief in the world that Barcelona can still lift silverware without the Argentine and made that very clear on Monday in a press conference ahead of Barca's UCL clash with Bayern. Via Goal:
“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.”
Despite Messi's exit, the Catalan giants did manage to sign several intriguing players to bolster their squad. Memphis Depay joined from Lyon and has hit the ground running, scoring twice and tallying an assist in three appearances. Barca also brought in Dutchman Luuk de Jong from Sevilla, who is a natural-born finisher.
Busquets is very hopeful that the Netherlands duo can help the club make up for the 25+ goals per season that Messi provided:
“Depay has arrived after having had a few very good seasons and has been a great signing. Hopefully he will be important in terms of goals and assists, but also in every other way.
“He has connected very well with the Barca fans and has adapted well. Frenkie [de Jong] and Luuk [de Jong] will make it easier for him. Players like this are always welcome.”
Although Antoine Griezmann went on loan to Atletico while Martin Brathwaite and Sergio Aguero are sidelined with injuries, there is no shortage of options for Ronald Koeman.
However, although Busquets has faith in Barca, winning the Champions League specifically will be a very tough task with the likes of Bayern, Chelsea, Man City, and PSG all vying for glory as well. Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see how the La Liga giants fare in Europe's most prized competition.
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