Ronaldinho Reveals How Barcelona Can Adjust to Life Without Lionel Messi Once the Argentine Retires

After Ronaldinho retired from professional football at the start of this year, the Samba superstar took the time to reflect on his five-year spell with Barcelona.

Throughout his time at the Nou Camp, Ronaldinho's sublime skill and ever-present smile captured the hearts of football fans around the world, with the Brazilian becoming one of the most liked figures in the game.

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Under the management of Frank Rijkaard in Catalonia, the Brazilian playmaker claimed two La Liga titles as well as winning the Champions League in 2006, seeing him help to bring about an era of dominance for Barcelona in Spanish football.

Upon his departure from the Nou Camp in 2007, Lionel Messi took up the mantle as La Blaugrana's star player, seeing them win the Champions League a further three times as well as claiming another six La Liga titles.

Throughout the entirety of Messi's senior career, he has been a player of the utmost importance for Barcelona, with the Argentine attacker guiding the club to glory on a continental scale.

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However, with the Barcelona talisman reaching the twilight years of his career, now at 31-years-old, the Catalonian outfit will need to consider how they will cope without him when he decides to call time on his career at the Nou Camp.

Speaking to Yahoo Sport, Ronaldinho spoke on how the current La Liga leaders can cope without Messi.

“I will never get tired of eulogising Léo [Messi]. He’s not just a great player; he’s a great person, a great human being. That’s the kind of thing we must never tire of praising.

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“And when he gets on that field… well then we could end speaking for a whole year about Messi. He evolves with every game. Léo is a living legend and we must treat him with so much respect.

“We just have to cross our fingers and hope that someone comes along with half of his ability. That would already be enough,” explained Ronaldinho.

Barcelona's next game sees them face off against AS Roma in the second leg of the Champions League quarter final, with La Blaugrana holding a 4-1 aggregate advantage and, as such, being heavy favourites to progress.