Barcelona will be better without Neymar and Manchester City and PSG have distorted the transfer market, insists chief Josep Maria Bartomeu
- Josep Maria Bartomeu is adamant Barcelona will be stronger this season
- The Barcelona president has hit out at rivals Manchester City and PSG
- He believes it is unfair that the clubs are financially backed by rich countries
Barcelona chief Josep Maria Bartomeu believes his side will be better this season despite losing star player Neymar to PSG.
Neymar's £198million move to PSG came as a surprise to Barcelona and forced the Spanish giants into scrambling for replacements.
They tried and failed to sign Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool and were linked with a deadline day move for Angel Di Maria but the deal failed to materialise.
Neymar moved from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain for a world record fee of £200million
Josep Maria Bartomeu insists Barca are stronger with Paulinho (left) and Ousmane Dembele
Barca did however manage to land Ousmane Dembele from Borussia Dortmund for £96m to fill the void left by Neymar and Bartomeu believes his side will be better due to the club's summer acquisitions.
Bartomeu said: 'It's better. Better on the right flank and in midfield. We can counter-attack and with Paulinho we've got a lot of strength. And up front we have players like [Gerard] Deulofeu and Dembele.'
The sale of the Brazilian superstar has broken up the famous front three of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar but Bartomeu said it was not a bad move 'to end the strength of the trident'.
'It's been really good but it's had consequences,' he said. 'It's an opportunity to play a return to collective football in midfield, which is traditionally Barca's strength.
'His exit allows us to strengthen the model, to not fall back on the trident all the time. Plus, we've got money. We've earned €105million and there's more to invest in football, in assets. Let's see what we do. It's an opportunity, with a new manager, a new project. We can't be pessimists. Let's stop being pessimistic!'
Bartomeu has also fired a shot at Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain by claiming the European duo have distorted the transfer market due to their financial backing.
Manchester City and PSG, who are backed by investors from Abu Dhabi and Qatar respectively, were able to sign the likes of Benjamin Mendy, Kyle Walker, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe this summer.
Bartomeu has hit out at Manchester City and PSG for 'distorting the market'
And Bartomeu believes both sides have increased transfer fees due to their ability to splash the cash on whoever they fancy buying.
Speaking to Sport, Bartomeu said: 'Qatar and Abu Dhabi, two countries that have two clubs. If Bayern [Munich], [Manchester] United, [Real] Madrid or Arsenal buy a player, you know [the money] comes from football. But these two clubs distort the market.'
Barcelona host local rivals Espanyol on Saturday after beating Real Betis and Alaves in their opening two league games.
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