Barcelona have enjoyed domestic and European glories in the last decade, the Catalans have won three Uefa Champions League, seven La Liga, and three Club World Cup titles in the last decade.
However, the start of a new decade looked anything but comfortable for the La Liga side, they have suffered European travails to Roma, Liverpool and recently to Bayern Munich. Real Madrid winning this season’s La Liga title and Bayern Munich’s emphatic victory over Barcelona means the Catalans will finish the current season without silverware.
A lot of things will need to be addressed in a quest to bring back the glory days. Here is an in-depth analysis of how Barcelona got it wrong this season.
Lack Of Cohesion Between The Board And The Players
The lack of cohesion between the management and the players is disheartening and discouraging, this turned out quite ugly this season when club director Eric Abidal and club captain were involved in a public spat after Ernesto Valverde was sacked, it all started after Eric Abidal claimed that the Barcelona players should take the responsibility after Valverde was sacked, Abidal perceived the players didn’t work hard enough under the former manager. Lionel Messi immediately took to Instagram and asked Abidal to name the players and asked for the club’s management to take responsibility for its decisions. Josep Maria Bartomeu stepped in and calmed the waters but it remains an ugly chapter in a forgettable season.
Awful Transfer Activity
Barcelona have hardly put in a square peg in a square hole in their transfer activities over the past few seasons. None of their big-money acquisitions have justified their price tags, Philippe Coutinho, Ousmane Dembele and Antoine Griezmann cost more than €400 Million and they are yet to justify their price tag. Barcelona have failed in their quest to build a decent team around their best player Lionel Messi with their awful transfer activities.
Over-Reliance on Ageing Player
Given the Catalans Reliance over an Ageing Squad and their awful transfer activities, it will be a hurdle to cross in their quest to build a decent team for the next decade. Almost all their man players are over the age of 26. Luis Suarez, Gerrard Pique, Arturo Vidal are all 33-years old. Rakitic, Bosquet are 32 years old, Alba and Griezmann are 31 and 29 respectively. This shows that the veteran influence on the team is declining with age.