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BARCELONA. — Lionel Messi thinks football and life will never be the same again after the worldwide devastation caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Barcelona icon has expressed his sadness for families who have been unable to see loved ones or say goodbye to them, and thinks the experiences everyone has lived through will ensure the world feels like a changed place.

The English Premier League have announced their intention to return on June 17, while the Spanish La Liga’s first match back will be the Seville derby between Sevilla and Real Betis on June 11.

“Almost all of us are left with doubt about how the world is going to be after everything that happened,” Messi told El Pais.

“Beyond the lockdown and the situation that caught us by surprise, many people had a really hard time because this situation affected them in some way, such as those who lost relatives and friends and could not even bid them farewell.

“I think there were many negatives in this crisis, but there can be nothing worse than losing the people you love the most, that creates enormous frustration for me and it seems to me the most unfair of all.

“Football will never be the same. But not only football. I think that life in general will never be the same.” — The Mirror.