Juventus GM: 'Barcelona have weakened now'

Juventus GM: 'Barcelona have weakened now' image

Juventus general manager Beppe Marotta believes Barcelona are no longer the same quality of team the Italian side faced in the Champions League final three seasons ago.

Barca defeated the Bianconeri in the 2015 showpiece, but Marotta says things are now different with the Spanish side after the departure of Neymar in a €222 million move to Paris-Saint Germain.

Juve 12/1 to win Champions League

Juventus were drawn into Group D with Barcelona during the Champions League draw on Friday, with Olympiacos and Sporting CP also in the group.

While Juve made it to the Champions League final in 2016-17 - eventually losing to Real Madrid - Marotta is not worried about facing a "weakened" Barcelona in this year's group stage.

"Every group has its dangers and it's important that you are in form when you play those games, but Barcelona have weakened now that they have lost Neymar, even if they are still dangerous," he told Mediaset.

Barcelona are looking to bring in reinforcements before the group stage begins, with the club set to sign Ousmane Dembele from Borussia Dortmund for €150m.

"We'll have to see how they replace [Neymar]," Marotta said, "but they are bound to have a quality team."