Barcelona coach Quique Setien says he would not like his team to be crowned Spanish champions by having the rest of the season cancelled.
Setien’s comments come in response to Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois’ argument that it would be wrong for the Catalan side to be awarded the title if the season cannot be completed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Camp Nou outfit have a two-point advantage over Madrid at the top of LaLiga and there are 11 games still to be played. Even though they are in second place, Courtois insists his side have proven themselves the stronger team by collecting four points from league games against their close rivals this season.
Barca boss Setien agrees with the Belgium international that it would not be ideal to have his side win the title before the rest of the season can be played.
‘I wouldn’t like to win the title in this way,’ he is quoted as saying by Spanish daily Sport. ‘It’s common sense that the league table stays as it is [if the season cannot be concluded].
‘However the reality is that everyone would like to finish the season and win it all playing all the games, the same as the Champions League.’
The Spanish government has given permission for clubs to start testing players for Covid-19 and begin individual training again this week, and Setien’s men will return to the Barca facilities on Wednesday.
It is the beginning of a four-phase process for LaLiga to return to action with games to be played behind closed doors for the time being.
However, it remains unclear if football will return any time soon and there are concerns that the season could be scrapped over fears that returning prematurely will exacerbate the Covid-19 situation.
Eibar have expressed their fear about returning to work considering the potentially ‘terrible’ consequences, while Valencia defender Gabriel Paulista has warned against bringing the league back too soon.
More than 25,000 people in Spain have died after being infected by Covid-19 since the virus reached the country at the end of January.
