Ter Stegen: Losing Neymar made Barcelona stronger

Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen believes his side is better off in the wake of Neymar's sensational summer departure, explaining that the Brazil icon's €222-million switch to Paris Saint-Germain served only to force evolution at Camp Nou to the Blaugrana's benefit.

"The quality of Ney, you can't explain it," Ter Stegen told ESPN FC. "Because he was super important for us, as a person (and) in the team, as a footballer.

"Now, everyone needs to understand what he did because maybe he wants to win something else, also personally. His decision only he knows but in the end we had to compensate all this and this is not easy because he had so much quality, but we did it in a different way and now we have a very, very strong team."

Recent results under new manager Ernesto Valverde help confirm Ter Stegen's assessment, as the club reached a 31-match unbeaten league streak on Saturday, equalling the record run set in Pep Guardiola's 2010-11 campaign.

With new signings like Ousmane Dembele and Philippe Coutinho, Ter Stegen sees plenty of optimism for future success, too.

"I think we've got some new players who have made us even stronger and hopefully they feel good and comfortable in the team and they adapt very fast," Ter Stegen said. "But at the same time we want to give them the time, Dembele didn't play very often because he was injured (and) Coutinho just came.

"We always need to give them time and be patient because they are young and they have some great years ahead."

Since departing Barcelona, Neymar has enjoyed a similar boost, with the 26-year-old notching 28 goals and recording 15 assists over 29 matches in all competitions. Still, Neymar will be hoping he can also reverse a 3-1 first-leg loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League round of 16 when the Spanish side visits the Parc des Princes on March 6 for the second leg.