Barcelona still aren't Real Madrid Opinion Another humiliating European exit

Good football fans can realise that the Champions League has seen an incredible team in recent years.

In Lisbon in 2014 there was a Real Madrid side that attacked with an unbreakable faith in an attempt to equalise against an Atletico Madrid team who gave little away.

Milan in 2016 saw a team play with three injured players who managed to reach extra-time and then get the job done on penalties.

In 2017, Madrid were up against an unbeatable, impregnable opponent in Juventus, who had conceded just three times in the competition until leaking four in the final.

Then, in 2018, there was a team who were 3-0 down at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu against the Italian champions only to score a late goal on their way to the final, where they dispatched a strong Liverpool side.

Four Champions Leagues in five years is historic. There are fans who insist that winning LaLiga Santander is the priority, that it was a matter of luck, of hot balls, of referees, or that it was in the hands of Florentino Perez, but those stories lack substance.

There is a team in Spain who know how to win the Champions League, and they are Real Madrid. Simultaneously, Barcelona are proving that they don't know how to win it, and having Lionel Messi alone isn't enough.

They have the best player in the world, possibly the most influential of all time, and it's not enough. Barcelona still aren't Real Madrid, and nobody knows if they ever will be.