Barcelona star forward Lionel Messi said that both life and soccer have forever been changed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
COVID-19 is responsible for the deaths of 370,000 people worldwide as of Sunday afternoon. It has also wreaked havoc with the sports landscape for much of 2020.
LaLiga, Spain's top-flight soccer league, is set to resume on June 11, albeit without fans in the stands. The first match on the slate will feature the Seville derby between Real Betis and Sevilla.
"I don't think football will ever be the same," Messi said in an interview with El Pais on Sunday. "But beyond football, I don't think life, in general, will ever be the same, either. All of us that have experienced this situation will remember what happened in one way or another. In my case, it's with a feeling of sorrow and frustration for those that have suffered the most due to the loss of loved ones."
Messi didn't stop there.
"I am sure that football and sport, in general, will be affected," he said. "Financially, because there are companies linked with the world of sport that will maybe experience some difficulties because of the coronavirus. But also professionally, because with the return to training and competing, what was normal before now is going to be different. It will be a strange situation for us as athletes but also for anyone that has to change their usual work dynamic."
Barcelona resides in first place with 58 points, two points ahead of Real Madrid.
The Premier League will restart in England on June 17 and Italy's Serie A will resume three days later.
