Messi ready for La Liga return: I am desperate to compete again

Barcelona striker Lionel Messi's experience of coronavirus has been the same as everyone else, locked down at his house for more than two months.

With LaLiga planning to return next month, and Barça back in training, he has reflected on the effects of the pandemic in a post for Adidas:

"When we return to play, it will be like starting again. We're going to have some time to prepare before the competition restarts and it means we will get some important players back, who were injured. Technically it will be the same season, but I think that teams and players will experience it in a different way."

"Now more than ever it's important to have contact with the team. Every now and again, we get together to chat and see each other. And with others, I speak every day.

"We can't think about what's been left behind this year. It's better to think about the future, like playing games. It will be strange at first, but I am desperate to compete again."

"Delaying the Copa America was a huge disappointment but it's the most logical decision. The Copa was going to be a huge event for me this year and I was so excited to be involved with the tournament once again. It was tough when I found out it had been postponed, but I understood perfectly."

"I don't think anyone could have expected something like this. There were people who spoke about pandemics but no one could imagine what has happened or the tremendous impact it has had across the world.

"It's never easy to live or work with so much uncertainty and especially in such exceptional circumstances. We all wanted to know when we would be able to train and play games again. For any football, maintaining our concentration for when we step on the pitch is fundamental."

"There are people that think that mental strength is 40, 50 or even 60 percent of our sport. I suppose it depends on each player. But I do think it has a huge amount of importance and we work on that aspect more and more all the time as professional sportsmen."