DOHA: Barcelona and Argentina captain Lionel Messi said it will be like starting over once the La Liga restarts.
Messi is training with Barca again ahead of a planned resumption of La Liga behind closed doors on the weekend on June 12.
“We cannot think about what we are leaving behind this year. It is better to think about the future,” said Messi on the website of sports brand Adidas.
“Nobody expected it. I can’t even imagine the global impact that this pandemic is having.”
“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.”
“There are those who think that mental strength is 40, 50, 60% of our sport. I suppose it depends on each sportsman in particular. I believe that it is very important, and that this is an aspect that is prepared more every day amongst professional athletes.”
Messi was due to lead Argentina this summer in the Copa America, where his country are joint hosts with Colombia, but in March, the competition was postponed to June and July next year.
“Postponing the Copa America was a huge disappointment, but of course it was reasonable and most logical,” Messi said.
