Deco: “I can't imagine a Barça without Messi, but it can happen”

Anderson Luis da Souza (42), better known as Deco, you know what it's like to win one Champions League. He did it twice, with the Porto in 2004 and with Barça in 2006, and this Saturday, thanks to Santander Bank, attended Sports world to talk about the final between PSG and Bayern 24 hours before said appointment. But he also commented on all the Barça news, going through the situation of Leo Messi, the blow suffered before him Bayern and the arrival of Koeman, among other matters.

Who will win the final?

I don't see a clear favorite. It is difficult to decide on one of the two. We are talking about two great teams. Bayern showed their ability in the game against Barça, but I see PSG wanting to do something important and with Neymar at a very high level. Maybe because they have him and Mbappé, PSG can have a point of advantage.

How much would you pay to play this match?

The truth is that they miss each other a lot. The Champions League and everything that moves is unique. This time it will be without an audience, but everyone is watching her. I would pay a lot (laughs).

Do you think Neymar will return to Barça one day?

I do not know. I think he was very happy at Barça and made history by winning the treble. He got on very well with Leo and it was a surprise for me that he left for PSG, but he could also return.

The 2-8 does not reflect the reality of the difference that exists between Bayern and Barça

Is Neymar the signing that Barça needs the most?

He is an unbalancing player, one of the ones with the greatest capacity in one on one. But whether to return or not many times does not depend on the player. Barça and any team in the world would like to have him.

What did Bayern's 2-8 seem to Barça?

A tough result. These are things that can happen, but I think that the scoreboard does not reflect the reality of the difference that exists between the two teams. Barça in recent seasons has shown weaknesses and has been a bit intermittent and this time everything went wrong. If they played 10 times, this result would not occur any more, but this time it happened.

Deco knows what it's like to win the Champions League; he did it with Porto and with Barça
Deco knows what it's like to win the Champions League; he did it with Porto and with Barça

What has led Barça to the delicate moment in sports that it is currently going through?

It is difficult to say from the outside because we lack information. When you have a generation that has been winning for a long time, you have to look for a replacement little by little, but sometimes it is not easy to manage it because there are footballers who do not want to come to avoid being the main protagonists. I think there have been signings that have not gone well and they have also lost important players like Xavi, Iniesta or Thiago. Barça has not been able to respond to those losses.

There is talk that Messi could leave. Do you think it can happen?

I don't know, but he has a contract. He is a player who wants to keep winning and will depend on what Barça does when it comes to offering him a competitive team. I haven't talked to him, but I'm sure that's what he thinks.

I think Koeman can help Barça because he has a lot of experience and knows the club well

What advice would you give him?

I think he has to think about his future at a sporting level. It is very difficult to make a decision because we are talking about the club of his life and it is not that he has been at Barça for three or four years. We are talking about the best player in the history of the club and his family is linked to the city. Is not easy. But it is also clear that he wants to keep winning. We cannot imagine a Barça without Leo, but it can happen.

What about Trincao?

Is young. He has talent and a great future ahead of him. At Barça many times you don't have time and a lot is demanded of you from the start. But surely it can be done with a hole in Barça for the future.

Koeman has arrived. What do you think?

A coach who knows the club very well and has a lot of experience. He knows the whole Barça environment and I think he can help Barça at this time.

And you? Will we ever see him on the bench?

Not right now. It's not what I like (laughs).