Lionel Messi has been lacking support at Barcelona, with considerable change needed at the club to turn things around according to teammate Arturo Vidal.
Messi cut a forlorn figure as the La Liga runners-up were humiliated in their Champions League quarter-final at the hands of eventual winners Bayern Munich, who romped to an 8-2 win earlier this month. The player has since decided his future lies away from the club, while the disappointing results have led to some questions over whether the best player in the world has lost some of his sparkle.
Such a claim was refuted by teammate Vidal, who thinks that the 33-year-old and the other players have been let down by a lack of depth in the squad.
"The last three years are not what a team like Barcelona deserves. The best team in the world cannot have 13 professional players and the rest youngsters. You cannot always win with DNA," he said in a Youtube interview.
"All teams need to have 23 players to fight for the position to grow, to train better every day. There are clearly very good players: Leo Messi is number one in the world, he is an alien but he also needs help."
The Chilean midfielder is one of a number whose future at Barcelona appears uncertain in the fallout of a disappointing campaign but he arrived for testing on Sunday to begin pre-season under new manager Ronald Koeman. Messi was absent as his standoff with the club continues with Manchester City waiting.
