‘Barcelona without Messi is orphaned’
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Former Argentine coach and player Angel Cappa said that superstar Lionel Messi's departure from his lifelong club Barcelona is a 'symbol of collapse' for the Catalan side, adding that Barcelona, without their captain, is 'orphaned'.
Messi shocked the footballing world on Tuesday night when he informed Barcelona through Burofax that he would like to see his future elsewhere, demanding to move away from Barcelona on a free transfer by triggering a certain clause in his contract.
Messi's decision comes after Barcelona completed a trophyless season -- for the first time since 2007-2008 -- that ended with a humiliating 8-2 defeat to German champions Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinal in Lisbon on August 14.
And according to Cappa, who worked as an assistant manager to César Luis Menotti in FC Barcelona from 1983–1984, Messi's departure would serve as a symbol of collapse for the Catalan side.
"Barcelona without Messi is orphaned. He is the best player in the history of Barcelona and that he goes to another place, it is not about what he would be, but what he is, and he is the symbol of the collapse of Barcelona", he added in an interview with Super Deportivo Radio (Radio Villa Trinidad).
In addition, Cappa assured that "Barcelona abandoned their footballing style a long time ago" and everything "exploded in 8-2 against Bayern Munich " for the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
"It is not known if we saw the best version of Messi. What I do know is that Messi reinvented football in Barcelona. He made plays and genius that have never been seen. He also repeated things that were simply made by great players. Like all the other players. big: Maradona, Pelé, Di Stefano, Cruyff ", affirmed Cappa. And he declared: "Spanish football loses an unrepeatable figure. Loses a genius, a crack".
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