Ex-Barcelona star says ‘impossible’ for team to win Champions League with current squad | OneFootball

Speaking in a recent interview, former Barcelona midfielder Emmanuel Petit has criticised the team, stating that they cannot go on to win the UEFA Champions League with their current squad and the way they play.

Barcelona came close to going all the way in Europe last season, but faced a heartbreaking extra-time elimination at the hands of Inter Milan at the semi-final stage.

The current campaign has seen the Blaugrana lose two games already in the league phase of Europe’s premier competition (vs PSG, Chelsea), while they were also held to a draw by Club Brugge.

Petit believes Barcelona do not have world-class players beyond Lamine Yamal

Petit, who joined Barcelona in 2000 and left the next year, stated that while the team is very much capable of competing in La Liga, they will come up short in Europe.

“Barça can compete for La Liga, but not for the Champions League, not at all. Does anyone believe they can win this title with this defence? Impossible,” he stated.

“We saw it against Inter. How can you concede seven goals in a Champions League semi-final?” he asked rhetorically.

Continuing, the 1998 World Cup winner with France claimed that Barcelona are betting everything on Lamine Yamal, but do not have enough world-class quality around him in the squad.

“Barcelona is like a casino, they have bet everything on Lamine Yamal,” he continued.

Barcelona are overdependent on Lamine, says Petit. (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images)

“Barcelona must trust Lamine Yamal today, and they have quality players, but not world-class stars like Leo Messi. Lamine can’t win the Champions League alone. With all due respect, Messi couldn’t do it without Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol…” he added.

Not stopping there, Petit further commented: “Now everything is largely based on Lamine Yamal. They have top-level players at Barcelona, ​​but they don’t have world-class players, like Leo Messi was in his time.”

“Can you win the Champions League with these defenders? Impossible! It’s impossible. They concede a lot of goals. We saw that last season in the semi-finals against Inter,” he explained, pointing fingers at the defence.

Mikel Arteta to Arsenal?

Meanwhile, Petit, who had more success at Arsenal than at Barça, also stated that the Gunners’ current manager, Mikel Arteta, could consider a future move to Catalonia, given his roots at the club, saying:

“He might be tempted to return to Spain, especially to a club he knew when he was very young. Honestly, with the work he’s doing, can you imagine if he wins something at the end of the season?

“He’d probably say, ‘Okay, that’s fine by me. In my case, after almost seven years, I’ve achieved it with Arsenal. I think it’s time to look for something else.’ I’d understand.

‘Well, look, Barcelona is one of the best clubs in the world. I’ll go back to Spain, and the lifestyle is good for my family.’ He’d say, ‘Okay, I’ll go to Barcelona, ​​but something needs to change, especially in defence,'” he commented.

Source: Mundo Deportivo