Barcelona may well have some promising years ahead of them.
Ever since a young Lionel Messi burst onto the scene at Barcelona and made football his own, there has been concern over what the future would look like after he retires.
Recently, though, these concerns have been intensifying as Messi ages. The 33-year-old will not be able to carry Barca forever, and the fans know it.
Another big concern is the direction the club is heading, moving away from the use of La Masia and relying more on short-term purchases, such as Paulinho, Arturo Vidal, and now Miralem Pjanic.
Many, many promising youngsters with potential for greatness have come and gone, while others have seen their career ruined by constant loans, like Sergi Samper, once considered the heir to Sergio Busquets‘s throne, now playing in Japan.
To top it all off, the one player who seemed the most likely to be able to replace Messi as the Blaugranas’ star, Neymar, was sold to Paris Saint-Germain.
However, as hopeless as it may seem, there are certainly signs that point to a promising future.
Riqui Puig and Ansu Fati
While many La Masia players have fallen through the cracks at Barcelona, these two certainly have not.
Both are generational talents, with Puig drawing very real comparisons to a certain Andres Iniesta, while Fati looks nothing short of a future superstar, being the subject of a nine-figure bid from Manchester United at the age of 17.
They have already established themselves as key members of the team, and their impact is palpable. In short, Barca look a better side when they are on the pitch.
Puig’s most impressive characteristic is his maturity at just 20 years old. He not only has excellent vision, dribbling, and passing accuracy, but he seems to always do the right thing.
He possesses the advanced nuances that made Iniesta and Xavi so great, and he is the archetype Barcelona midfielder.
Similarly, Fati is a typical Blaugrana winger. While his great skill and trickery are always a danger, he knows when to take people on, when to simply keep possession moving, and when to play a risky pass.
The most important element of Barcelona’s style of play is decision-making, both in and out of possession. It’s not about running faster than the opponents or running more; it’s about thinking faster and thinking more.
Fati and Puig both have this innate skill, and make no mistake about it, they are here to stay. Barca is their dream club, so unless they are forced out they will be here for years to come.
The future certainly does look brighter with these two in the starting lineup.
Presidential elections next year
A lot of Barcelona’s recent failure can be attributed to club president Josep Maria Bartomeu and his board.
The shift in transfer policy is purely down to who is calling the shots, and Bartomeu has decided he prefers short-term fixes rather than prioritizing the future by using La Masia.
Some of the financial decisions made by the board have been horrendous. Spending over €400m on Antoine Griezmann, Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele has left the club in a very sticky situation financially.
It’s not like any of these moves have paid off either. Fati has shown more this season than any of these three players have in their entire Barca careers, and he was free.
That’s why using La Masia is so important; stars are made, not bought, just like Messi, Xavi and Iniesta, some of the best players of all time.
Ever since Bartomeu has been president he has been spending the club into near financial ruin and threatens to destroy everything Joan Laporta, the president from 2003-2010, built before him.
Thankfully, the presidential elections are next year, and Bartomeu will not run, so Barcelona will have a different president by next summer.
While naturally Bartomeu’s vice president Emili Rousaud is a frontrunner, there are some very interesting names in the mix, none more so than Laporta himself.
Laporta is responsible for the best period in the Blaugrana’s history, with homegrown stars such as Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, and Carles Puyol all owing a good part of their careers to him and his excellent leadership.
He is one of the leading candidates, and after the nightmare that has been Bartomeu’s reign recently, it would not be such a bad thing to have him back.
Another interesting candidate is Victor Font, who has the public approval of Xavi. Font promises to make Xavi the cornerstone of Barca for the next decade and has promising ideas on how to revitalize the club.
Both Font and Laporta would be ideal choices to take over the presidency, and with one of them at the helm, they might just bring back the glory days.
Xavi
It has always been a matter of when, not if, the Barcelona legend would return home, but recently that day seems to be fast approaching.
Xavi was offered the job after former manager Ernesto Valverde was sacked in January, but he turned it down as he felt it was not the time yet, so Bartomeu went ahead and hired Quique Setien from Real Betis.
Setien was billed as the man who could return Barca to the Cruyff-like style of play, but that has not panned out thus far, with the club essentially conceding the title to Real Madrid and the youngsters perhaps not getting as much playing time as they deserve.
After Xavi rejected the job in January, it was said he was holding off until the summer, but he has recently signed a one-year extension with Qatari club Al-Sadd, where he has been playing and managing since 2015.
The most likely scenario is that he wants to wait until after the results of the presidential elections, most importantly to see if his candidate Font wins.
Even if he doesn’t, though, Xavi and Laporta have a great relationship as well so if the former president wins again that could also convince Xavi to come home.
The main issue for him seems to be managing with Bartomeu as president, a man who does not seem to share that Barca DNA. Xavi wants the autonomy to make the important squad decisions, including transfers, which Bartomeu has not afforded the previous coaches.
The next president will be in power for at least six years, and who is chosen will probably decide whether or not Xavi is brought back.
In the unlikely scenario that one of Bartomeu’s favored candidates wins, this may delay his return, but fans and members want to see a change at the club, so it’s hard to imagine anyone backed by the current president winning.
Font promises to bring back the old guard of Barcelona, like Xavi, Puyol, Victor Valdes, and Iniesta, and I do not doubt that Laporta would do the same.
Messi has made no secret of the fact that he wants his old pal back as manager, and hiring Xavi would also go a long way towards keeping him happy, which is the most important thing for Barca.
It’s no secret that Barcelona have made some very poor decisions; both financially and managerially. But there is still hope for the team that conquered the world just five years ago.
By beginning to trust the youth of La Masia again, and bringing back the legends that made the club so successful, with the right man calling the shots Barcelona could well have a very promising future ahead of them.