Casting still open to replace Messi on Barça free-kicks & penalties

Lionel Messi's departure has had a huge issue on many aspects of life at Barcelona, including the matter of who should take set pieces now.

Messi took the majority of penalties and free-kicks when he was at Camp Nou and no one has yet taken over this season, with duties being shared around so far.

Barça coach Xavi was asked about who should take on free-kick duty after Messi's exit on Saturday in a press conference.

"We have been working on free kicks today," he explained. "Sometimes it's a surprise when you how well Eric (Garcia), Pedri, Braithwaite, Frenkie take them.

"You have to coach them, every day before a game. There's no specialist in the style of Messi, but we have good takers, like Memphis and Alves as well.

Xavi also pointed out that it wasn't until he was 21 or 22 that Messi started working on free kicks following a suggestion from the late Tito Vilanova in training.

Meanwhile, on penalties, Xavi said that the coaching staff have a list of takers.

"It all comes down to sensations," he added. "At the end of the day, Messi parked everything, but Busquets is also a specialist, like Memphis, Aubameyang, Pique...

"We're not used to it visually, but some of them have to take a step forward. We have the players to cover all areas of the game."