Messi departure is painful but Barca can’t live in the past: Ronald Koeman

Barcelona Head Coach Ronald Koeman said that losing Messi was a big blow for us as club as the ace player has contributed a lot towards the growth of Spainish club in last 18 years.

Messi has scored a maximum goal for Barcelona till date which is 470 goals and now he has decided to join Paris Saint Germain where he has signed a contract for 2 years and it might be extended for 1 more years.

Koeman said his space can’t be filled so easily in the franchise but we need to move on as a team as quickly as possible.

“It’s painful for all Barcelona fans given what Messi has done for the club, but we cannot live in the past,” Koeman told a news conference.

“I’m excited for the new season, and I hope the fans are enthusiastic too. We have to live in the present and not the past. People have spoken a lot about Messi and that’s normal because of how effective he was and his quality. We won’t have him around any more, but we still have a very strong squad. There’s no excuses now, we’ve got games to play and points to win,” Koeman said.

It is evident that the club is going through a tough time and is currently in a financial crisis so the players like Gerard Pique and others decided to take salary cut and termed this behavior as complete team man.

“We all know the club’s situation and that it needs help so you have to appreciate the attitude of Gerard, of Sergi Roberto and Busquets,” added Koeman.

“It proves they are real club men.”

The Dutch coach added that Pedri and Eric Garcia would be available to face Sociedad despite playing the Olympic final for Spain last week after a grueling Euro 2020 campaign with the national team.

Some of the key players including the likes of Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Ousmane Dembele and Sergio Aguero expected to be out till October.