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Barcelona will begin La Liga life without Lionel Messi on Sunday when the Catalan giants kick off their new 2021-22 campaign against Real Sociedad at the Camp Nou.
Midfielder Sergio Busquets will take over the captain’s armband from the Argentine, but it’s still not clear who will wear the famous No. 10 shirt that Messi has worn since inheriting the famous jersey from Ronaldinho in 2008.
Trying to replace Messi with one player will be all but impossible but Artificial Intelligence technology company Olocip has crunched the numbers and analyzed the Barcelona squad to try and predict which player will come closest to replacing Messi.
The player who has topped the list is new signing Memphis Depay who scores 73% when it comes to similarity with Messi. Olocip predicts that if Memphis plays every minute of Barca’s league season in 2021-22 he will finish with 14-15 goals and contribute around 7-8 assists.
Of course it’s worth noting that those stats are far below what Messi has produced in the past. The forward finished last season as the top scorer once again in the Spanish top flight with 30 goals and 9 assists from 35 outings.
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Memphis Off To Strong Start
Yet Memphis has certainly started life at Barcelona strongly following his arrival on a free transfer after his contract with Lyon ended. The Dutchman scored in the pre-season friendly wins over Girona, Stuttgart, and Juventus.
💥 BOOM! @MEMPHIS GIVES BARÇA THE EARLY LEAD! #BarçaJuve #TrofeuGamper
Barcelona and Ronald Koeman will be hoping Memphis can continue his goalscoring streak heading into the new season. The Dutchman looks a guaranteed starter with Messi having departed and Sergio Aguero out for 10 weeks through injury.
Koeman has already been ful of praise for Memphis and has explained why he was so keen to bring his compatriot to Barca in an interview with Barca TV.
“It’s important that I know him well; he knows how I work and he is a player with a lot of character – he is strong, quick, he brings us a lot,” he said. “He can play anywhere up front and he is coming into the prime of his career. He improved a lot at Lyon and he gained experience as captain.”
Memphis Ready For Season Start
Barca’s first game of the new La Liga season is on Sunday at home to Real Sociedad. The game will be played in front of 30,000 spectators at the Camp Nou with supporters allowed in for a game for the first time in 17 months.
Memphis has sent a message to supporters to show he’s ready for the big kick-off and his first season in La Liga.
Time for the real work.
See y’all next week!
Injuries to Aguero, Ansu Fati, and Ousmane Dembele mean Koeman does not have too many options in attack for the early weeks of the season. Memphis looks destined to start along with Antoine Griezmann and Martin Braithwaite in attack.
Teenage forward Yusuf Demir is also in contention after a bright pre-season. The youngster was dubbed the ‘Austrian Messi’ before his move to Barca and could be the next breakout star at the Camp Nou.
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