Barcelona Still Struggling With Lionel Messi’s Departure After Two Consecutive UCL Group Stage Knockouts

• Barcelona has failed to progress to the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League since the departure of club record goal scorer Lionel Messi
• The Catalans once again dropped down to the Europa League, following the club’s 3-0 bashing at the hands of Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich
• Barcelona has failed to win in their last four Champions League matches and will now compete in Europe’s second-tier competition

Barcelona still has not gotten over the exit of Lionel Messi two years, after the Argentine superstar quit the Catalans to sign a two-year deal with Paris Saint-Germain.

The Catalans have once again been knocked out of the Champions League group stages after a hammering by Bayern Munich 3-0 at Camp Nou.

Barcelona will now play in the Europa League for the second straight season, after being knocked out early from the Champions League last season.

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The Spanish giants had progressed to the knockout stages of the Champions League for 17 years when Lionel Messi was still present in their team.

Barcelona will hope to better their last season’s record in the Europa League however, where they got to the semi-finals before being eliminated by Eintracht Frankfurt.

Big mistake letting Messi leave

Meanwhile, sports journalist Pablo Giralt has faulted Barcelona’s decision to let Lionel Messi leave the club following the Catalans’ disastrous Champions League exit, PSG Talks reports.

Giralt couldn’t help but point out Barcelona’s disastrous two seasons in the Champions League without Messi, where they crashed out in the group stages.

The former Barcelona star has been instrumental to the French champions’ success both in Ligue 1 and in the Champions League.

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Barcelona fans cry for Messi’s return

Earlier, Sports Brief reported fans of Barcelona at Camp Nou chanted for ex-captain Lionel Messi, as they watched their side suffer a second successive exit from the UEFA Champions League group stage on Wednesday evening.

The Blaugrana crashed out of Europe's top-tier club competition at the first hurdle again, after a disappointing campaign which produced just one win in five outings.

The five-time Champions League winners had already been relegated to the Europa League prior to kick-off, after Inter Milan demolished Viktoria Plzen in the group's other game on the same day.