LIONEL MESSI fears football will “never be the same” due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Top-level European leagues are only just returning to action in a highly controlled manner, following strict safety protocols and playing in empty stadiums.
Messi is back in training with Barcelona ahead of LaLiga’s restartCredit: Handout – Getty
And Messi opened up on the tragedy of seeing loved ones die from the virus, which he describes as the “most unfair thing of all”.
The 32-year-old told El Pais, via Goal: “Most of us are left with doubts about what the world is going to be like after everything that has happened.
“Beyond the confinement and the situation that took us by surprise, many people had a really hard time because this situation affected them in some way, as it happened with all those who lost their family and friends and could not even see them.
“I think there were a lot of negative things in this crisis, but there can be nothing worse than losing the people you love the most, that creates enormous frustration for me and seems to me the most unfair thing of all.
“Football, like life in general, I think will never be the same.”
Spain has been one of the hardest-hit countries in the pandemic with 27,125 deaths linked to coronavirus from 286,308 confirmed cases.
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Meanwhile in Messi’s home of Argentina, 528 people have died with a severe economic impact also taking its toll on the South American nation.
The Barcelona forward has donated hundreds of thousands of pounds to medical needs in both countries.
Life will take a small step towards normality in Spain when LaLiga resumes on June 11, with Messi’s Blaugrana back in action four days later.
League bosses are planning a frantic fixture schedule to finish the extended 2019/20 campaign with LaLiga president Javier Tebas considering staging a tribute to Covid-19 victims before the opening game.
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Lionel Messi’s adorable son works out with dad in coronavirus lockdown before Barcelona star shows him how it’s done
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
