The
Union of European Football Association (UEFA) has said that the Champions
League semi-finals will not feature either Barcelona captain, Lionel Messi or
Juventus forward, Cristiano Ronaldo for the first time since the 2004/2005
campaign.
UEFA
said this immediately after Bayern Munich eliminated Barcelona from the
Champions League last-8 final on Friday night.
In
a tweet, UEFA wrote on its official Twitter handle: “The UCL semi-finals will
not feature either Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo for the first time since
2004/05.”
Recall
that Barcelona were completely overpowered by a ruthless Bayern side, who
scored four times in either halves as the match ended 8-2 in favour of the
German club at the Estádio da Luz in Portugal.
Goals
from Thomas Muller (2), Ivan Perisic, Serge Gnabry, Joshua Kimmich, Robert
Lewandowski and Phillippe Coutinho (2) ensured the Bundesliga champions
qualified for the semi-finals where they will take on the winner between
Manchester City and Lyon.
Also,
Lyon eliminated Juventus in the Champions League last-8 final last week on away
goal rule after the match ended 2-2 aggregate, despite Ronaldo’s two goals in
Turin.
The UCL semi-finals will not feature either Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo for the first time since 2004/05.#UCL pic.twitter.com/uIBj7PkaFo
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) August 14, 2020