To win this season’s
UEFA Champions League Lionel Messi has ruled out Barcelona’s chances
as he named his favorites to win the top prize for Europe.
The 32-year-old
Barcelona captain has last won the trophy in the 2014-15 season and
was vocal about his desire to carry the trophy back to Camp Nou.
Since then, on multiple occasions, his Barcelona side has been
knocked out of the competition in unprecedented fashion.
On Tuesday at Atletico
Madrid Messi has revealed Liverpool is still one of his favorites as
he despite suffering a 1-0 first-leg loss.
Messi has also named
Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain and Madrid as the other sides that
might challenge this season for the Champions League.
“All [the teams]
are complicated and difficult,” He told to Spanish newspaper
Mundo Deportivo. “Paris went to play Dortmund and lost,
Liverpool went to Atletico’s field and lost, but I think, like that
and everything, Liverpool, Juventus, Paris, and Madrid are the
strongest today.”
Saul Niguez has opened
the scoring at the Wanda Metropolitano in the fourth minute, unable
to find an equalizer for Jurgen Klopp’s men before full-time.
Yet Messi said he was
not surprised by the result and indicated that it would always be
difficult to tie the round-of-16.
A little bit more talk
on Atletico’s victory over Liverpool Messi said, “On the day of
the draw, we talked in the locker room that would be very close
because Atletico competes a lot in this competition. In two-match
duels, they are very strong and they showed it again, that they will
compete and they will be there.”
Messi’s Barcelona has
returned to their Champions League campaign with a trip away to
Napoli next Tuesday.