"People have woken up" - Enric Masip believes Barcelona have evolved as a team after Lionel Messi's move to PSG

Lionel Messi's move to PSG has greatly benefited Barcelona, according to president Joan Laporta's presidential advisor Enric Masip. In a recent interview, Masip sensationally claimed that the team has improved and a squad 'has been achieved' since the Argentine superstar's move to PSG last summer.

After trying and failing to leave the Catalan club two summers ago before Joan Laporta returned to power, Lionel Messi completely changed his mind last summer - just a year later.

The Argentine superstar was content with the changes within the club and sought to end his career at Barca. However, the club's precarious financial situation forced everyone's hands, and the Spanish giants were forced to let go of the 34-year-old, who subsequently joined PSG as a free agent.

Since then, he has visibly struggled to settle down in the French capital, scoring a meager total of 7 goals across competitions for PSG this season. Barcelona, on the other hand, are enjoying an excellent period of resurgence under their new manager, Xavi.

Despite a turbulent start to the season, Barcelona have recovered superbly to occupy third place in La Liga. Xavi's side find themselves just three points shy of second-placed Sevilla, albeit with a game in hand. Due to financial difficulties, Xavi and Barca have had to turn to youth and affordable signings this season, which has ultimately proved to be exactly what they needed.

Recent rumors, however, have suggested that Barca could look to re-sign Lionel Messi and/or Neymar next season. However, Enric Masip (who is the presidential advisor to Barca president Joan Laporta) claims that the club has decided to move forward and rebuild rather than look back at former players. Speaking in a recent interview (via Barca Universal), Masip spoke about Laporta's new recruitment strategy and said:

“What Laporta does is speak about prudence. We have to get back the desire of players to play for Barça. We’d rather have a person who is fully committed to the team than a ‘crack’ who is there by name.”

He further added that the presence of big names hardly equates to success and referenced PSG's situation to prove his point. He also claimed that Lionel Messi's departure has forced the rest of the Barcelona squad to wake up and perform, thereby making them a much better team.

“PSG shows that the power of the team is much superior than the power individuals can have," Masip said. "But if you have both, good. Without Lionel Messi at Barcelona, everyone has had to change. People have woken up and a team has been achieved.”

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Barcelona eye European glory as Lionel Messi's wait continues at PSG

Barca have a solid chance of winning the UEFA Europa League this season

Despite their excellent recovery this season, Barcelona still find themselves 12 points short of La Liga leaders Real Madrid. While league glory may seemingly be out of reach, Xavi's side could still lift crucial silverware this season in the form of the UEFA Europa League trophy.

Barca are arguably the strongest side left in the competition and are set to face Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarter-finals next month. Winning the competition would result in a significant morale boost in this transitional phase at the club.

Meanwhile, Lionel Messi's wait for European glory continues after PSG were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League earlier this month after losing to Real Madrid.