For years, much was speculated that Barcelona would begin to decline once Lionel Messi would depart from the club. Now, such skeptics are being proven right to an extent after Barca’s sluggish start to the season, which has included a current ninth place standing in La Liga.

However, Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone is not necessarily buying into the notion that Barca is gradually heading into a down period following Messi's free transfer move to Paris Saint-Germain.

In speaking to the Argentine-based outlet Diario Ole, Simeone highlighted the multitude of notable talents at Barca to prove that the club’s supposed demise has been a mere talking point.

“Do you know the team Barcelona has?” Simeone said. “Let's name names … Sergi Roberto as a fullback, [Sergino] Dest as a substitute.  [Clement] Lenglet, [Gerard] Pique, [Ronald] Araujo, Jordi Alba. Pedri. Did you see the 17-year-old Gavi who was a starter in Spain? [Frenkie] De Jong, [Sergio] Busquets, [Sergio] Aguero, Memphis Depay, [Luuk] De Jong in case you need aerial play. [Philippe] Coutinho.

“Don't tell me the story, no. Now if you tell me [Lionel] Messi is not here, and we lost 30 goals, I say yes, of course, you don't have 30 goals as we never had Messi.”

As the Argentine manager touched on, Messi’s departure from the Barca has not left the club all doom and gloom considering the notable prospects within the team, from Pedri to Gavi. Both talents have not only been featured for Barca as starters over the past year but also for the Spanish national team in key international knockout stage matches.

Barca has plenty of work to do to steer the club back in the right direction, considering the multiple financial hardships that it is currently facing. Still, there are several players within the team who have what it takes to lead the Catalan side back to glory.