Barcelona Rumors: Barca Officially Moved On From Messi, Appoints New No. 10

Barcelona appears to have moved on from Lionel Messi as the club has now picked its new No. 10.

The entire Camp Nou was left dejected by Messi’s shocking departure. However, the Catalans are also well aware that they need to be able to pull themselves together and move forward.

This is seemingly what has been happening in Barcelona at the moment with the club appointing Philippe Coutinho to inherit Messi’s legendary No. 10 shirt, ESPN Deportes’ Jordi Blanco reported.

Many have been wondering why the Argentine has opted to don the no. 30 at Paris Saint-Germain despite Neymar reportedly offered to make the No. 10 available for his former Barcelona co-star.

Messi has yet to reveal the real reason behind the sudden change, but one thing certain is that at the time, the six-time Ballon d’Or winner preferred to revert to one of his former numbers--19 and 30.

Barcelona has officially begun its new 2021-22 La Liga campaign with an opening match against Real Sociedad.

Contrary to what most expected, Barca didn’t struggle without Messi. In fact, the club even dominated its opponents almost the entire game.

After the match, Barcelona veteran Gerard Pique was quizzed to comment on the club’s Messi-less season opener.

According to Pique, Barca may not have the “talent” it used to possess with Messi around, but he is optimistic about the squad’s unity and competitiveness.

"I don't have to explain what Leo [Messi] represents, we all know it," Pique told Movistar after Barcelona’s 4-2 win over Real Sociedad. "He's the most important player in the history of this club and in the history of football. But all things must pass, we have to keep going.”

“I think we have a good level, we'll be very competitive,” he continued. “I'm convinced we'll compete for all the trophies until the end. It's true that Leo not being here means we perhaps won't have the talent we had before. But the team has shown that we're all united. I think we'll have fun this year."

Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman, meanwhile, pointed out before the game that they "must not live in the past."

Despite Messi out of the picture, Koeman was “delighted” to see new faces stepping up for his team, particularly Memphis Depay and Martin Braithwaite.

“He [Depay] played a great game and gave a great assist,” Koeman said in a post match interview with Marca. “He always does things.

“I think he [Braithwaite] is an example of a professional, he always works for the team and has improved his game. He helps us a lot. He has speed and is difficult to stop. I am delighted to have players like him.”