Lionel Messi leaving Barcelona a blow to La Liga's prestige, says Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric

Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric said that Lionel Messi leaving Barcelona would be a massive blow to La Liga's prestige across the world. The Croatian also emphasised that the potential departure of Messi would be a huge loss, just like it was when Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid and La Liga, to join Juventus.

"If it happens it will be a huge loss for the prestige of the league," he told AFP, via FirstPost. "But we need to go forward. Other players will become stars," the Croatian said.

"When Ronaldo left, the same thing happened, the life of Real Madrid went on without him and it will be the same for Barcelona and LaLiga without Messi."

Ronaldo left Real Madrid in the summer of 2018, and the Spanish giants have had to rebuild their squad, and experience a bit of a managerial merry-go-round as well. Julen Lopetegui and Santiago Solari both lost their jobs in a tumultuous 2018-19 season, before Zinedine Zidane was re-appointed at the helm.

They did regain the La Liga title in the 2019-20 season, but will be disappointed by their performance in Europe. For a second season in a row, Real Madrid lost in the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League. This season, they lost 4-2 on aggregate to Manchester City after Raphael Varane had a night to forget in the second leg at the Etihad Stadium.

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Want to win more La Liga titles with Real Madrid: Luka Modric

Luka Modric said he was confident that La Liga would see other players step up if Messi left

Lionel Messi's potential departure from Barcelona, and its ramifications, could give Real Madrid a big opening this season, and maybe even beyond to put a marker down in La Liga. Real Madrid have only won two La Liga titles in the last eight years, and that is a record that Modric wants to correct.

"We don't have a young team but we have an experienced team," he said.

"We have young players, who will get better. I don't know if we will buy players but even if it stays like this, we have enough quality.

"We showed it in LaLiga and we know we can do it again. After the suspension, we came back so motivated. We missed football, we missed winning games.

"We had worked so hard, I think physically we were the best team in the league and that's why we won it. It was my second La Liga title and I want to win more," the Croatian star said.