The Fall of FC Barcelona!

Is it Lionel Messi’s departure or poor management skill that has led to the downfall of FC Barcelona? Well, if you ask an honest Culer, the person will state both the above mentioned reasons. Lionel Messi was also fed up of Bartemou’s rule and wanted to get rid of the team in 2020 itself. However, the then president didn’t let that happen but eventually he had to leave the club because of what the former president did in the past. Their greatest left with tears in his eyes and the club was no more the same!

The story more or less everyone knows but hardly anyone knows what went behind it. The current President, Joan Laporta promised everyone that Messi will play for the club but eventually failed to keep him because of the financial issues of the club. Now, did the president go all out to keep their best player in history? This is the controversy that no one really talks about. Of course no one knows it for sure but the president failed in certain things that might cost him a lot.

One such thing was selling a few players. The club wanted to sell Antoine Griezmann for most of the summer. Their plan was to raise money to keep Messi in Catalonia. This backfired and Messi had to leave the club for free after years and years of service. However, the interesting part among all this is that Barca eventually loaned Griezzman out. Only if they could have done this any sooner, keeping Messi would have been a bit easier.

The club has also failed to sell players like Phillipe Coutinho, Dembele and few others. The President definitely has to take responsibility for it. In a recent interview, Laporta went on to say that he expected Messi to play for free! No one is quite sure whether he was joking or drunk!

Now, coming to the pitch, Barca has played decent football in my books. Of course they didn’t get the result but the point is, they don’t have that team at the moment. Also, needless to say that their coach Ronald Koeman isn’t the perfect coach for the team. He isn’t the kind of coach who can deal with young players, groom them and make them ready for what’s going to come. The exclusion of Rique Puig is not only shocking to Barca fans as well as football fans from across the globe. Memphis Depay started well but slowly lost his momentum. He however is giving everything on the pitch. The development of Pedri, Araujo and Gavi has been brilliant and by the looks of it, Barca is slowly building a project. Yes, it will take time but if Koeman remains in charge, expect a lot of time.

In short, whatever Real Madrid faced in 2018, Barcelona will face now for at least two years. If they manage to offload some players and get some young talents with huge potential, they can once again be the contenders. Also, by the looks of it Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland are all a foot away from joining their dream club, Real Madrid. If that really happens, that will be a huge setback for Barca. Why? These two players are expected to dictate world football in the next decade and then play in the same team? Goodness me!