Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman believes that Lionel Messi's presence at the club masked problems that are becoming apparent now.
The Argentina international left Barca for PSG last month in a shocking move that exposed the team's vulnerabilities this season.
Koeman told Voetbal International. "Lionel Messi has glossed over everything at Barcelona, he was so good and he won. Of course he had good players around him, but he made the difference. Everyone seems better because of him. This is not a criticism, but an observation.
“I knew how good he is, but it's still nice to see it up close every day. Everything you would like to teach a football player; with Messi everything is a ten. Not normal, not normal!
“He was an example for the players. When we won the Copa… Messi took so many trophies, bigger than this one, but you saw that the Copa del Rey really did something for him this time. With those young players there, he saw the future of the club. All those guys wanted to take a picture with him, I've never seen anything like it. He was and is that big. The fact that he is not here now was a shock to the whole city."
