Wenger claims Barcelona and Juventus are reliant on Messi and Ronaldo

Arsene Wenger claims Barcelona and Juventus are still ‘overly reliant’ on veterans Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo and insists superstars’ team-mates ‘are not good enough’ after both suffered Champions League defeats 

  • Barcelona were thumped 4-1 by PSG in the first-leg of their tie on Tuesday
  • Juventus and Cristiano Ronaldo fell to a shock 2-1 defeat to Porto on Wednesday
  • Arsene Wenger feels both clubs are ‘overly reliant’ on Lionel Messi and Ronaldo 

Former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger says Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s team-mates at Barcelona and Juventus are ‘not good enough’. 

Barcelona face a big task to advance to the quarter-finals of the Champions League after they were thrashed 4-1 by Paris Saint-Germain at the Nou Camp on Tuesday.

Juventus also have to come from behind in the second leg, after they fell to a shock 2-1 defeat to Porto.


Arsene Wenger says Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s team-mates ‘are not good enough’

The ex-Arsenal manager says Juventus and Barcelona are ‘overly reliant’ on the two players

The Frenchman has sympathy for the pair, as the two biggest superstars in world football for more than a decade both face early Champions League exit.

If neither Barcelona or Juventus overturn their first-leg defeats, it would be the first time since 2005 that neither Messi or Ronaldo participate in the quarter-finals of Europe’s elite competition.

Wenger told beIN SPORTS: ‘It’s a problem that (Juventus) are only relying on Ronaldo. That just shows that the players around him just aren’t good enough.

‘It’s the same for Messi. If the team is overly reliant on Messi, it’s because the players around him are not good enough.’ 

Juventus had a mostly youthful look to their team against Porto, with Dejan Kulusevski, Weston McKennie, Rodrigo Bentacur, Federico Chiesa and Matthijs de Ligt all 23-years or younger.

Messi’s teammates against PSG included Antoine Griezmann, Pedri, Ousmane Dembele, Frenkie de Jong, Sergio Busquets and Gerard Pique.  

Messi and Barcelona were outclassed by PSG with Kylian Mbappe netting a hat-trick

Both Juventus and Barcelona are also struggling in their respective domestic league campaigns.

Andrea Pirlo’s side who are searching for their tenth consecutive Serie A title, are third in the standings and eight points off leaders Inter Milan though they do have a game in hand.

Barcelona who relinquished the title last season to Real Madrid, are nine points off the lead, this time around to Atletico Madrid.

Juventus were stunned and need to overcome a 2-1 deficit to Porto in the second-leg




Share this article


Source: Read Full Article