The sight of Lionel Messi playing in front of an empty Camp Nou or Sergio Ramos leading Real Madrid out with no fans to cheer for them could come to an end by the start of next year. La Liga president Javier Tebas believes that fans could hopefully return to stadiums by the start of January next year.
"It is actually not up to us when it comes to having fans back in the stadiums. But what we can conclude from recent developments and the latest news is that if we are able to vaccinate the whole population and get this virus under control, then maybe fans can start returning to the stadiums. A lot of it depends on the government and other factors as we know but hopefully, we can see fans back in stadiums. The COVID virus has affected all the clubs in many ways but I'm confident that we'll have a great season," said Tebas during the official presentation of the 90th La Liga which is set to start on September 12.
The event was also attended by the likes of Andres Iniesta, Iker Casillas and other former players who are also La Liga ambassadors like Luis Garcia, Fernando Morientes, Diego Forlan, Gaizka Mendieta, Fernando Sanz and Samuel Eto'o.
The stand-off between Lionel Messi and FC Barcelona had overshadowed the start of the new season but Tebas believes that the league will be as exciting as ever and while fans may not be able to throng to the stadiums at the moment, fans across the world can watch from the television screens and enjoy the game.
"You can now say that La Liga is now reaching every corner of the world and we are growing as a brand. We also have some young and exciting talents in the league like Ansu Fati and João Félix. I'm really excited about Fati because he is such an exciting prospect and could be one of the top franchise players in the league if he continues his development this way. His performance for Spain last night was also evidence of his talent," said Tebas.
The next season will kick-start with Granada taking on Athletic Club while Eibar faces Celta Vigo on September 12. Defending champions Real Madrid take kick-start their campaign against Real Sociedad on September. Meanwhile, there will be a lot of interest in the Barcelona versus Villareal game on September 27 after Messi decided to stay and the arrival of a new coach in the form of Ronald Koeman.
"After all the controversies that the club has been through, it will be interesting to see what the team is gonna be like and how things pan out at Barcelona. But they are a good team. It will be an exciting season," said Forlan.
The likes of Iniesta and Casillas feel that La Liga will be more competitive than ever. "The fight for three points is harder than ever in La Liga and teams will have to dig deep. All the teams are improving and there is a lot of talent coming through," said former Barcelona legend Iniesta.
Last season, La Liga was one of the most closely fought leagues in Europe with the title fight going down to the wire. Casillas feels that it will be the same this year.
"There is a lot of competition and things will be very tight. Every team is improving and results will be harder to come for the top teams," said the World Cup winner.