Frank Rijkaard admits Thierry Henry's decision to snub
Barcelona was a major blow for the club. Following a long drawn out
saga last summer, the Frenchman opted to sign a long-term deal with
Arsenal instead of a lucrative move to the Nou Camp. And the
setback was made even worse when star striker Samuel Eto'o was
ruled out for five months of the season with a meniscus
injury.
"The truth is that it was a big blow," Rijkaard told RAC 1. "But
that is only on a hypothetical level, as we don't know if he would
have got injured, for example." But while Rijkaard can't deny the
failure to capture Henry still haunts him, the Dutch coach still
believes Barca will be able to keep Ronaldinho and Eto'o despite
reports linking the pair away. "When the stars are committed to the
club, there's no need to shake things up too much," he added.
"Barcelona doesn't need a revolution.
"Hopefully Ronaldinho and Eto'o will stay at Barca. I think the
players are happy here. I hope the big names stay. "Ronaldinho has
put in a lot of work for the team, above all when Eto'o and Messi
were injured. He has decided a lot of games. Of course he is going
to go through a bad spells, but even then he has scored a lot of
goals. The moment is yet to come when he is at the top of his game
and feels at his physical peak."
Barcelona have failed to hit the heights they reached last season
having been knocked out of the Champions League by Liverpool.
