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Barcelona's Lionel Messi 'ready to compete' again but admits playing in empty stadiums will be strange

AFP via Getty Images
AFP via Getty Images

Barcelona captain Lionel Messi says he is ready to compete again as LaLiga prepares to restart in June, but admits it will be strange to play in empty stadiums.

Messi and Barca have been back in training since May 8 after a lengthy break due to coronavirus and the Argentine attacker looked especially determined in a video posted by the Catalan club on Tuesday.

“Nobody expected it. I can't even imagine the global impact that this pandemic is having," the 32-year-old wrote about the impact of the virus in a column for Adidas.

“It's difficult to live and work with such uncertainty, and in such a different and exception situation as this. We were all asking ourselves when we would get back to work and to competition. For any player, maintaining concentration on the pitch is fundamental."

But the six-time Ballon d'Or winner, who is sporting a new clean-shaven look on his return to training, reveals he has stayed in good shape at home during the hiatus.

“I've tried to train every day at home," he wrote. "However, obviously individual training is nothing like training with the group.

“I don't like not having a rhythm of games, but it's the new normality that we are going to live in. That's why we have preparation before competing again."

LaLiga is due to start with Sevilla's derby clash at home to Real Betis on June 11, with Barca in action away to Mallorca some time in the days that follow.

“We can't think about what we are leaving behind this year," Messi said. "It's better to think about the future. It will undoubtedly be strange to start with, but I'm really looking forward to competing again."

When football does return, it will be behind closed doors, an experience the Argentine is already familiar with after Barca's LaLiga game against Las Palmas was played at an empty Camp Nou in 2017.

“It's a challenge," he said. "The preparation from the group is the same as for any other game. However, it's true that individually you have to get ready and think about playing without a crowd, because it's very strange."

"We played a game behind closed doors a while ago, and it was very strange.

"It's normal that, is football returns, it is in this way after all that we've been through. With everything that is happening in the world, it's perfectly understandable."

Messi had been expecting to kick off his bid for a first international trophy with Argentina's senior side in June, at the Copa America, but the Covid-19 crisis means the South American competition has been put back until next year.

"The postponing of the Copa Amarica was an enormous disappointment," he said.

"But at the same time it was normal and logical. It would have been an exciting event for me, and I was very excited about playing in it again."

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