People believe Messi's exit has weakened La Liga, need to show it isn't the case: Morientes

Fernando Morientes, former Real Madrid player, who is also the ambassador of La Liga has said that people are now thinking that the league has gotten weakened following the departure of Lionel Messi, but La Liga needs to show the world it is not the case as one player never sells a competition.

Earlier this year, Messi bid adieu to Barcelona after spending 21 years with the club and he went to join Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) linking up with players like Neymar Jr and Kylian Mbappe.

"La Liga throughout its history has lost players, just like any other league... It is nothing new. Cristiano left, Neymar left, Messi and Ramos have also left. Footballers will eventually leave, but clubs will stay. La Liga doesn't sell itself through one player. La Liga sells a competition. La Liga is never going to have a problem selling itself as a competition. "La Liga has done a spectacular job attempting to attract the best players to make it as competitive as always been," said Morientes during a virtual press conference.

"I would like to see a Spanish final (Champions League) in fact, because there are many people who believe that Messi's exit has weakened the league. We have to demonstrate it is not the case. In the last 10-15 years, La Liga teams have always been very competitive in all European competitions. And I am convinced this coming season the Spanish teams will demonstrate their true potential in this competition," he added.

Morientes also said that he remains hopeful that La Liga would continue to attract the biggest players around the world and the popularity would not dip with the departure of Messi.

"The La Liga will continue to be a really attractive league bringing in new players, and I am sure that there are great players that will want to come in to play here. La Liga is sufficiently strong for it to be attractive to everyone. I am convinced that in India you will continue to follow the league, and you will continue to follow our teams as fans and not just individual players," said Morientes. La Liga is being telecasted on MTV and streaming platform Voot in India.

( With inputs from ANI )