'We lost out up front, but Neymar's departure improved our defence'

On the Brazilian star, whose influence Barcelona are sorely missing on the pitch, Messi highlighted that his departure was not just represent a blow for the attack, but it also meant an improvement in other aspects of play.

"Neymar's departure meant that we changed our style of play," admitted the Argentinian star. "We lost a big part of our attacking play but that also benefited us in terms of defence.

"At the moment we are very strong in the middle of the pitch, we're more organised and that has meant we've been better defensively."

He also mentioned his surprise when he saw Barcelona centre-back Samuel Umtiti in training for the first time.

"He trains like he plays, always giving everything. Off the pitch he is an excellent person and a great guy. Honestly I didn't know him when he arrived, so he ended up surprising me. But seeing what he's like in training, his performances on the pitch are certainly not unusual."

Finally, Messi spoke about Arda Turan, and he did it in the past tense, making it clear that the Turkish midfielder's time at the Camp Nou has more or less come to an end.

"He has a lot of quality and he's brilliant, but he was unlucky because he didn't benefit continuity or confidence, so he couldn't perform for the team.

"He came from Atletico Madrid, where he played in a different role and was playing every weekend. It's not the same being in the team every week and doing it every so often, so Arda was never able to make his mark.

"When he was able to play and he had continuity, he did well," the Barcelona forward concluded.