Barcelona begin the post-Lionel Messi era against Juventus in the Joan Gamper Trophy

Life moves on, and Barcelona begin the post-Lionel Messi era this evening when they take on Juventus in the final of the Joan Gamper Trophy at the Estadi Johan Cruyff. Messi gave an emotional press conference this morning at Camp Nou, where he was unable to hold back the tears. Barcelona are in a new world.

Messi obviously wasn’t selected in Ronald Koeman’s 21-man squad, but several key players were. The Dutchman opted for Sergino Dest, Gerard Pique, Ronald Araujo, Sergio Busquets, Riqui Puig, Antoine Griezmann, Miralem Pjanic, Memphis Depay, Martin Braithwaite, Neto, Philippe Coutinho, Jordi Alba, Sergi Roberto, Emerson Royal, Samuel Umtiti, Inaki Pena, Yusuf Demir, Nico Gonzalez, Rey Manaj, Alejandro Balde and Alex Collado.

Barcelona have enjoyed a mixed pre-season so far. They’ve recorded good wins; they beat Gimnastic 4-0, Girona 3-1 and Stuttgart 3-0. They also suffered a 2-1 defeat to Red Bull Salzburg in their last outing. Tonight’s clash with Juventus is their final pre-season game before they kick-off La Liga against Real Sociedad at Camp Nou next Sunday.

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La Liga - Club News