Frank Rijkaard admits Thierry Henry's decision to snub Barcelona was a major blow for the club. Following a long drawn out saga last summer, the Frenchman opted to sign a long-term deal with Arsenal instead of a lucrative move to the Nou Camp. And the setback was made even worse when star striker Samuel Eto'o was ruled out for five months of the season with a meniscus injury. "The truth is that it was a big blow," Rijkaard told RAC 1. "But that is only on a hypothetical level, as we don't know if he would have got injured, for example." But while Rijkaard can't deny the failure to capture Henry still haunts him, the Dutch coach still believes Barca will be able to keep Ronaldinho and Eto'o despite reports linking the pair away. "When the stars are committed to the club, there's no need to shake things up too much," he added. "Barcelona doesn't need a revolution.
"Hopefully Ronaldinho and Eto'o will stay at Barca. I think the players are happy here. I hope the big names stay. "Ronaldinho has put in a lot of work for the team, above all when Eto'o and Messi were injured. He has decided a lot of games. Of course he is going to go through a bad spells, but even then he has scored a lot of goals. The moment is yet to come when he is at the top of his game and feels at his physical peak."
Barcelona have failed to hit the heights they reached last season having been knocked out of the Champions League by Liverpool.
