Barcelona’s title hopes are slipping through their fingers, they are hurting for cash, and have complaining family members, which all raise questions about the club’s ethos and future.
Antoine Griezmann, the player Barça brought in to win another Champions League trophy before Lionel Messi rode off into the football sunset, went into a tied game against his former team – in the last minute.
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The French star’s brother and father took to social media to attack the club’s manager, Quique Setien, for not playing their beloved family member.
Barcelona drew with Athletico Madrid on Tuesday, dropping more points in their title race with Real Madrid.
The club has now turned into a telenovela.
As a result of the pandemic, reckless budgeting, and poor short-term thinking, the Catalan super-club is at a loss to find liquidity. They have been reduced to befuddling player swaps (Arthur for Miralem Pjanic, anyone?) to balance the books.
A team ethos built on their youth academy, La Masia, is now made up primarily of thirty-year-old plus stars and spare parts mixed like a salad left out in the sun for three days.
The club’s transfer strategy is now more similar to Real Madrid, who buy up stars hoping they will fit together.
Ousmane Dembélé, Philippe Coutinho, and now Griezmann are examples of Barcelona’s current transfer tactics. None of these players has worked out yet.
Setien replaced the robotic Ernesto Valverde earlier in the season, and nothing about the team’s play has changed. They are inconsistent, drifting, slow, and clinging to the past.
To top it off, Barça’s president Josep Bartomeu is facing re-election next year and is attempting the now-famous “not on my watch” strategy of sealing his legacy.
This leaves numerous questions about Barça’s future that need to be answered immediately.
Will the club continue to build back up from La Masia or swap puzzle pieces for one more trophy run?
Will Setien come back for a full season or be replaced by a club legend (Xavi Hernández) waiting in the wings?
Will Barcelona get a desperately needed injection of the club’s DNA that will reclaim their identity?
The answers to these questions will determine whether or not Blaugrana’s telenovela has a happy ending.