Blaugrana – Thomas Vermaelen

Thomas Vermaelen heaps praise on summer signing Arthur

Barcelona defender Thomas Vermaelen has heaped praise on summer signing Arthur after the Brazilian’s quick adjustment to the club’s style of play. The 22-year-old made the switch from Gremio during the summer transfer window and he has since been regularly involved at the heart of the club’s midfield.

Speaking to reporters, Vermaelen highlighted that the midfielder is a good player and needs more games before completely coming to terms with the tactical nous at the club, he said: “Arthur is a good player and of course he needs more games to adapt to the club and style. But his start has been incredible, he has all the battling skills and the technical ability to go right to the top.”
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Marc-Andre Ter Stegen insists Barcelona are more than just Messi

Germany goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen has insisted that Barcelona are more than just Lionel Messi and the credit should also be given to the remaining 10 players for the Champions League win over PSV Eindhoven. The Blaugrana kick-started their European campaign with a comfortable 4-0 triumph over the Dutch champions and Messi was once more the standout performer for the Catalan giants after contributing his eighth hat-trick in the competition.

Speaking after the game, Ter Stegen admitted that Messi always turns up for the La Liga holders and nobody can compare him with any other player. However, the shot-stopper wanted respect for the other players within the squad and insists they were equally influential towards the final result on the night, he said: “Lionel Messi always turns up for us, everyone knows his level and nobody can compare to him. But while Leo always is fantastic, there are ten other players in our team who helped us in this victory too, we are a team and not just one individual.”
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Ernesto Valverde unsure whether Real Madrid would be weaker without Ronaldo

Barcelona head coach Ernesto Valverde has said that he is unsure whether Real Madrid would become a weaker opposition with the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese superstar made the surprise move to Juventus during the summer transfer window after spending nine seasons with the European champions.

Since then, there have been question marks whether Los Blancos can continue challenging for major honours but Valverde does not believe it could be the case, he said: “I do not know if it will make them weaker. We were in a similar situation last year [with Neymar] and in the end the team grew and became stronger.”
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