Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde said on Saturday that the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid was similar to the loss of Andrés Iniesta when he retired from the Catalan club.
Ronaldo moved from Madrid to Juventus in this transfer window, while Iniesta left Barça to join Japanese club Vissel Kobe, reports Efe.
“We don’t know. But we have to recognize the kind of player Cristiano was and what he brought to Real Madrid and La Liga. But we lost Andrés (Iniesta),” the coach said at a press conference here, where the Catalan club is on a US tour.
On the possible arrival of more signings to Barça, the coach said the club was open to other possibilities.
“We did lose (Paulinho), an important player in the midfield, but we have other players and are also looking at players from our B team,” he explained.
Valverde acknowledged that he is “looking for players who can adapt to the ones we already have.”
Barcelona held a light training session ahead of the Sunday’s pre-season match against Tottenham Hotspur in the friendly International Champions Cup.