Juventus’ general manager Beppe Marotta believes Barcelona are no longer a force the Turin-based club must fear like they would have done few years ago after being drawn with the Catalans in Group D of the Champions League.
He said “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 television.
“We’ll have to see how they replace him, but they are bound to have a quality team.”
Juve will also battle Olympiakos and Sporting Lisbon in the group phase, and they could go into those games with an addition to their squad, as Marotta confirmed that talks with Schalke to sign Benedikt Howedes are advancing.
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