Football

BARCELONA - Lucas Digne says Barcelona’s deadly strike force will again carry them past Paris Saint Germain when the teams meet at the Parc des Princes in the Champions League last-16 on Tuesday.

At just 23, left-back Digne has already experienced the demands at the top level with PSG in his homeland and Roma in Italy, but nothing comes close to the demands he faces day-to-day since joining Barcelona in July.

"When you are a competitor, you always want to win. This locker room was born for that, this club is made for that," Digne told AFP in an exclusive interview.

"Every year you have to win trophies and that’s how it is. That’s what we are playing for.

"All players dream of winning trophies, it is that adrenaline that we seek."

Digne already has the Spanish Super Cup from this season to add to the eight trophies he won in just two years at PSG.

However, much bigger challenges and prizes await with Barca in search of a second treble in three years.

Luis Enrique’s men travel to the French capital for the first leg of their Champions League last 16 clash on Tuesday just one point off the top of La Liga

and already having booked their place in the final of the Copa del Rey.

Digne was on the losing side when Barca propelled themselves towards a fifth European Cup by sweeping aside PSG 5-1 on aggregate at the quarter-final stage two years ago.

Luis Suarez and Neymar combined for the goals in that tie, but Lionel Messi remains the senior partner in Barca’s frightening ’MSN’ front three.

"Leo is magic. He is the best player in the world," added Digne.

"When you have the best forwards in the world, it can always make a difference.

"The goal of football is to score goals, so if you have the best attack, for sure it helps."

Despite an outlay totalling hundreds of millions of euros, PSG are yet to break the glass ceiling of the last eight in the Champions League since owners Qatar Sports Investments took control of the club six years ago.

Domestic dominance wasn’t enough to save Laurent Blanc his job at the end of last season as the owners tired of European failure with Sevilla’s three-time winning Europa League coach Unai Emery put in place.

But Digne believes even more time is needed for PSG to break into the Champions League elite.

The history of a club is very important. I think we have to give them time to build.

"The fact that they have changed staff, they are in full construction of a new project so we must give them time."

Digne’s decision to move to the Camp Nou with his career trajectory on the rise was questioned with Spanish international and Catalan native Jordi Alba sanding in his way of a regular starting place at left-back.

Yet, Barca boss Luis Enrique’s desire to rotate has meant he has already made 20 appearances this season.

"I’ve played a lot, I’ve played important matches. I’m at the biggest club in the world at 23 years old," he added.

"A lot of people would like to be where I am today and I’m really happy about that.

"I said that it was a dream to play for this club and that it would be really great for me to have an experience like this.

"Today I am lucky enough to be able to do so. It was in the back of my mind to be able to reach the highest level. Having such a chance is a wonderful thing for me." AFP