Barcelona: Without him, it's a lot more difficult

Barcelona coach, Xavi Hernandez, has admitted that without Lionel Messi in his squad, it is a lot more difficult for the Catalan club

Xavi said this during his pre-match press conference ahead of Barcelona's LaLiga tie with Rayo Vallecano on Sunday.

Recall that Messi, a former teammate with Xavi at Barcelona, left his boyhood club for Paris Saint-Germain last summer after the LaLiga giants were unable to renew his contract.

Asked how it's coaching Barca in this moment of crisis, Xavi acknowledged the difficulty without the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner in his squad.

"We are in the post-Messi era, we need to have a lot of patience. I was the first to aspire to winning all the trophies, but we have to reinforce for next season," Xavi said.

"We have to be realistic, calm and patient. Without Messi, it is a lot more difficult. The attitude of the team has been laudable, that is true.

"There are all kinds of moments. There have been moments of sci-fi, like that 4-0 [against Real Madrid] at the Bernabeu, but also moments of horror, like the COVID-19 situation or when we were ninth in La Liga. That is our reality and we've to face it."