Barcelona head coach Ronald Koeman insisted that the Blaugrana club remains "excited" about the 2021-22 season, despite Lionel Messi leaving the club.
The six-times Ballon d'Or winner on Sunday confirmed the end of his 21-year stint with the Catalan club as Messi was left in tears while bidding adieu to his boyhood club. Messi in a press conference had admitted that his signing with PSG remains a possibility, but nothing is certain at the moment.
Speaking ahead of the Gamper Trophy encounter with Juventus, Koeman, as per Goal.com said: "Despite the farewell of Messi, we are very excited about this season. We are convinced that we will give you many joys this season."
"The youngsters are the future of this great club. It has been very hard to play a whole year without an audience, we are delighted to see you again."
Barcelona defeated Juventus 3-0 to win the Joan Gamper trophy. Despite a difficult week for the hosts, this win will boost their morale as they head into their first game of the season against Real Sociedad. Juventus, meanwhile, still have one warm-up match left against Atalanta next week.
( With inputs from ANI )
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