Barcelona’s director Toni Freixa has stated that he is confident that the club can overcome the absence of Lionel Messi for the next few weeks and continue getting their results. The club has once again made a great start to the season, which has seen them open up a lead over Real Madrid despite the season being just a handful of games old. Lionel Messi has been crucial to his good start for the club, although the Argentine has been struggling for goals in recent matches. This was due to the constant injury problems that he has faced this season.
Messi is already one of the top scorers in the la Liga season, but he’s already several behind the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Diego Costa. His latest injury will mean that Barcelona will be without him for up to 8 weeks, but Freixa reckons that this is something that the club should not worry about in the short-term. The Spanish giants are indeed extremely strong in this area of the pitch, but they will definitely miss one of the greatest players in the world. Messi holds the FIFA Ballon d’Or award given in the last four seasons, but he is set to be overtaken by either Ronaldo or Ribery.
The Argentine could return to first-team action by January.
“The team is always ‘Messi-dependent’ because it’s impossible not to be with the best player in the world. People talk about it like it’s something bad but it’s a good thing. We’ve improved this weakness now. The team have other resources and it is performing at a great level,” said Freixa. He will be hoping that players like Neymar, who have been brought to the club for huge fees, will be able to step up to the mark during this period.