Lucas Digne has insisted that Barcelona were unfortunate to miss out on the La Liga title last season, as the margin between his side and champions Real Madrid was so fine.
The Catalan giants not only missed out on retaining their Spanish top-flight crown, they also fell well short in the Champions League - a competition that rivals Madrid would go on to win for a third time in four years.
French full-back Digne believes that the stats prove Barca were good value to lift the title, but concedes that far more is required next season when Ernesto Valverde takes over from departed boss Luis Enrique.
"It felt good to finish the season like we started it – winning a trophy," he told Omnisport. "I felt as a part of the team from day one as I was playing in both games against Sevilla, securing the Super Copa in our first two games of the season. That was a fantastic start. And then we won the second trophy in the Copa del Rey final in the last game of the season.
"Still that is not enough for a club like Barca of course. We need bigger titles. I am looking forward to winning many more trophies and big titles in the future with Barca. The season was not that bad when you look at the facts. We were the highest scoring team in Europe's big leagues, and compared directly to our main rival, the stats show that we had both a better attack and a better defence when you look at the whole La Liga season.
"Very small things make the difference. For example, if they had not scored their equaliser in the last minute of the Clasico at Camp Nou, we would have won the league - not them. But that's football. It's just to explain how close it was.
"I will be forever thankful to the club and to Luis Enrique for bringing me to the greatest club in the world. From the moment I heard of their interest, there was only one club I wanted to join, because it was always my boyhood dream to play here. Now it is up to me to work hard and develop myself as a player, because obviously nobody is the finished article as a 23-year-old."
Digne was an unused substitute as Barcelona beat Alaves 3-1 at the Vicente Calderon to win the Copa del Rey last month.
Daniel Lewis
