Lionel Messi would not have prevented Barcelona's 3-0 second-leg thrashing by Bayern Munich at the Nou Camp, admitted his team-mate Gerard Pique.
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Arjen Robben and Thomas Mueller scored either side of Pique's own goal to complete Bayern's 7-0 aggregate victory in the Champions League semi- final.
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Centre-half Pique said: "The fact Lionel Messi, the best player in the world, did not play was a factor.
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"But I do not think [he] would have changed things all that much."
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This is the fourth time Barcelona have been beaten by at least three goals in a European home match.
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They lost 4-0 against Dynamo Kiev in 1997, 4-0 against Cologne in 1981 and 4-1 against Metz in 1985.
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Argentine playmaker Messi, who has scored 54 goals in 45 appearances this season, had been expected to play after coming off the bench to score against Athletic Bilbao last weekend.
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But Barcelona manager Tito Vilanova said the 25- year-old Ballon d'Or winner aggravated a hamstring injury in Saturday's match and would only have been risked late on if a comeback had been possible.
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"He trained yesterday and today, but he didn't feel right," said Vilanova. "He is an explosive player and there was a risk he could tear (his hamstring), so he couldn't help the team in these conditions.
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"All these years when we have played without Leo we have won games by small margins, but this year in the league we have won games 5-0 and 3-0 without him on the pitch.
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"When you have a player that is so good, it is normal that you notice it. If Bayern had been without (Franck) Ribery or (Arjen) Robben they would not be at this level."
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Vilanova was also without key men Sergio Busquets, Eric Abidal, Carles Puyol and Javier Mascherano, and admitted his side missed their presence.
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"All squads are reinforced every season," said Vilanova. "I said the other day that we didn't need to change much, but rather recuperate the players we do have.
Lionel Messi couldn't have done more than score two goals and then it would have ended 3 goals to 2 afterall.