In the early weeks of February, an encounter between Barça and Granada took place in La Liga at Montjuïc’s Olympic Stadium, which is currently serving as Barça’s alternative venue. This season, relegation appears to be imminent for Granada. The match ended in an unforeseen 3-3 draw, primarily due to a missed opportunity by Granada towards the end that could have sealed their victory. Towards the conclusion of the game, a group of Barça supporters started verbally attacking Joan Laporta, the president of Barça, demanding his resignation and dubbing him an embarrassment. Laporta, though maintaining a stoic exterior, was seething internally; this was evident when he threw trays of canapés on the floor upon entering the stadium’s elite section.
Ever since Laporta resumed his role as Barça’s president three years back, he has not had much success apart from winning a league title in the previous season. The financial state of Barça is far from ideal. As per Víctor Font, Laporta’s opponent in the presidential race of 2021, the club’s financial health is critically unstable. Indications are highly concerning: a debt amounting to €1.2 billion; recording losses exceeding €1 billion in the past triennium; a €1.5 billion stadium refurbishment in progress; and an almost €90 million seasonal shortfall in matchday earnings due to the absence from their home ground, Camp Nou.
The Covid-19 crisis, which has severely affected their revenues, has revealed the reckless proportion of Barça’s expenses on salaries. To illustrate, Frenkie de Jong is reported to earn €37.5 million per season, as per a lucrative contract dating back to 2019-20. This is double the amount that İlkay Gündoğan, the previous captain of Manchester City’s triumphant squad, has earned during his entire career.
At present, Barça is functioning amidst a financial crisis. They were the least spending of the 32 participants in the recent Champions League group phase. An adventurous attempt made in the 2022 summer to boost finances from moves in the transfer market – most notably selling a quarter of their La Liga TV revenue for the approaching quarter-century for €667 million – has not brought the expected returns. The recent high-profile acquisitions, including Ferran Torres, Jules Koundé, Robert Lewandowski, and Raphinha have not lived up to expectations.
After a red-hot commencement at Barça in the 2022-23 season, Lewandowski’s performance levels have been declining, ever since his hiatus for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. This Polish forward, aged 35, used to register a goal per match consistently. Presently, however, he’s netting one in every three matches, with age seemingly taking its toll.
Laporta’s questionable transfer choices and the sums spent on middlemen to facilitate these transfers have drawn flak from the Spanish media. In 2021, during his election campaign, Laporta advocated for maintaining strong connections with elite football agents. In the past summer, Barça’s coach Xavi Hernández verbally agreed to bring in Bernardo Silva from Man City and Martín Zubimendi, a defensive midfielder from Real Sociedad. However, these moves failed to materialise, and instead Xavi had João Cancelo and João Felix thrust upon him: two players represented by Jorge Mendes, Laporta’s close collaborator.
In January, Barça fast-tracked the transfer of Vitor Roque, a teenage striker hailing from Brazil which allegedly cost €61 million, inclusive of additions. Roque didn’t participate in any of Barça’s four Champions League knock-out matches, implying he might be another Brazilian aspirational disappointment.
Barça managed to secure İlkay Gündoğan and Andreas Christensen on free transfers, a savvy move that yielded results. These successful transfers were overseen by the club’s previous sporting director, Mateu Alemany, a seasoned football administrator. Alemany was dismissed from his role during a Barça training session to make room for Deco, a previous star Portuguese midfielder from the Ronaldinho epoch who advocated for the Cancelo and Felix signings.
Since Laporta assumed presidency in 2021, over 20 executives, including the yet-to-be-replaced CEO, have exited the club. Undeniably, the absence most deeply felt is that of Lionel Messi, who departed in the summer of 2021. Messi was instrumental in covering up underlying issues. In 13 seasons, he notched up over 30 goals. In comparison, Samuel Eto’o, one of the club’s most successful forwards, crossed the 30-goal line just once in his five seasons at Barça.
Xavi, the illustrious figurehead of Barça, is now set to make his exit. Fed up, visibly drained and projecting a frustrated demeanour unlike the calm authority he once had on Barça and Spain’s midfields, Xavi’s reputation is being tested. Last Tuesday showcased his third red card for the season during the unfortunate Barça 1-4 defeat by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, while his two-decade playing career witnessed just two send-offs.
At the commencement of this year, following a tumultuous 3-5 loss to Villarreal, the first instance where Barça conceded five goals on home ground in La Liga since the era of the 1960s, Xavi declared to Laporta his intention to vacate his post at season’s end. It was a strategic retreat before the pressing demand for his resignation. Club directors were already plotting for his removal. The burden of being a Barça head coach is overwhelming, being ranked as “a thousand times” more taxing than leading a club in England according to Pep Guardiola, Xavi’s fellow player and former manager.
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Barça is without an alternate strategy. They lack the financial resources to bring in an experienced coach. To comply with the financial fair play regulations, player contracts need to be released in the upcoming warm months. The club will probably appoint Rafa Márquez, Barça’s past central defender from their victorious Champions League campaigns in 2006 and 2009 and current head of the reserve squad, as Xavi’s successor. Although Márquez has no track record in managing a main squad, he’s a cost-effective option that resonates with the Laporta/Deco faction. The new skipper will inherit an array of gifted homegrown footballers such as Gavi, Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsí.
Prior to the Tuesday evening’s Champions League encounter with PSG, a group of Barça fans unknowingly pelted their own team’s bus with stones – a clear sign of the pandemonium rampant in the club. By the weekend, Xavi’s squad is set to face off against a buoyant Real Madrid team at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, fresh from their triumph against Manchester City. Barça, trailing Real Madrid by eight points and only seven matches left in the league, must secure a victory to maintain their thinning title prospects. Real Madrid will be ready to seize the opportunity.
Stars from La Masia, Barça’s training academy.
Xavi Hernández, the coach of Barcelona, has shown great faith in the talent coming from La Masia, the club’s prestigious youth academy. This includes remarkable players such as the excellent centre back Ronald Araújo and Gavi, despite him being sidelined for much of the season due to a knee injury. Other notable academy graduates include Alejandro Balde, Fermín López, and the particularly remarkable duo of Pau Cubarsí and Lamine Yamal.
A native of Estanyol, a tiny Catalan village without its own school or football team, Cubarsí has shown considerable versatility on the pitch, playing on either side of central defence. He was only 16 when making his first appearance this season, and he’s already representing Spain on the global stage. Xavi admires his composure on the ball, viewing it as one of his key strengths. Also, his tackling ability recalls the form of club legend Migueli, while his ability to deliver long passes is reminiscent of Ronald Koeman.
Barcelona’s historic rivalry with Real Madrid has seen only three of their players earn standing ovations at Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu Stadium – Diego Maradona in 1983, Ronaldinho in 2005, and Andrés Iniesta in 2015. Incredibly, during a Spain vs Brazil match last March, Lamine Yamal joined this exclusive club. At only 16 years old, he’s already keeping some stellar company.
Xavi introduced Lamine Yamal on the big stage last season when he was only 15. He’s still a resident at La Masia, but if injury doesn’t stall his progress, he’s slated to be a key player for Spain in the upcoming European Championship. His playing style is often compared to Messi’s, particularly his position on the right wing. He’s identified as the top dribbler in this season’s La Liga. His ability to score from long range is outstanding, but his decision-making steals the limelight more than anything else – an extraordinary skill for a player of his age. It’s clear his cleverness is on par with his exceptional talent.