Lionel Messi: La Liga is more important than the Champions League

Barcelona forward, Lionel Messi, recently stated that La Liga was more important than the Champions league. He said this was because it allowed teams to be more competitive in other European tournaments. In addition to this, Messi said that the premier club competition is something very special but the Spanish league tuned them to play in a much better way in such competitions.

'La Liga is more important'

Lionel also added that it becomes difficult for him and his team when they are not performing well in the league and are trying their best in the Champions League. He also said that they never forget the importance of the title they are fighting for because they are Barcelona and will always strive to win titles.

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The Catalans are gunning to win their third straight title this season but are off to a sluggish start that has left them 2 points behind leaders, Real Madrid who are at 18 points. Barcelona has won 5, drawn 1 and lost 2 out of the 8 matches they have played so far.

Decent start to their Champions League campaign

In terms of the Champions league performance, the Spanish team is placed at the second position in Group F. Barcelona next play Slavia Praha in their third group match on October 24 at the Sinobo Stadium, Prague. They last won the Champions league in 2015 and were defeated by Liverpool in the semi-finals last year, making it 3 years in a row that they have not reached a Champions League final.

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On October 16, Messi was awarded the European Golden Shoe Award for the third consecutive time and overall the 6th time. The award came after he scored 36 goals in 34 matches.

The injury-ridden season for Messi

The 2019-20 season has been injury-ridden for Lionel Messi, as he was initially was out with a calf problem but returned to play against Villarreal to mark his first start after the injury suffered in the pre-season. The striker played in the first half of the match, setting up a goal for Antoine Griezmann to score the first goal of the match but stressed his adductor in his left thigh after playing for 30 minutes. Later on, Messi was tended to by the team doctors for a few minutes before coming back on and playing the entire first half.

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(With inputs from agencies)