BARCELONA proved there is life after Lionel Messi to win the Joan Gamper trophy following a dominant win over Juventus.
The LaLiga giants bid goodbye to the legendary Argentine earlier on Sunday but the players still at the club gave the fans something to smile about.
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The home crowd chanted Messi’s name throughout the encounter but new signing Memphis Depay gave them a glimpse into life next season.
The Netherlands international opened the scoring after only three minutes after he slotted past Wojciech Szczesny during a counter-attack.
The Blaugrana dominated in the first half and had two goals disallowed – with Yusuf Demir denied by an offside flag against Antoine Griezmann.
And then the Frenchman had the ball in the net himself only for the linesman’s flag to shoot up again.
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Juve – who substituted Cristiano Ronaldo at half-time – went closest to an equaliser just before the break but Alvaro Morata was wasteful.
And they were made to pay following the restart as Memphis’ crisp corner found Martin Braithwaite unmarked inside the area and the Denmark international beat Mattia Perin with a clinical header.
The Catalans then made it three during the second minute of stoppage time when Riqui Puig channeled his inner Messi at the Johan Cruyff Stadium.
The La Masia graduate, 21, fired a wonderful curling shot from the edge of the box that gave Perin no chance.
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As for Messi, he is reportedly due to be unveiled as a PSG player at the Eiffel Tower on Monday, with the player flying to Paris after his emotional Sunday press conference in Barcelona.
The six-time Ballon d’Or winner, 34, later revealed he will return to Barcelona one day in his first social media post since leaving the club.
And Barca chief Joan Laporta has already opened the door for a Messi return.
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