Barca surrendered their league title to Real Madrid on an upsetting note.
After winning successive league titles in past two seasons, Barcelona were denied a treble by their arch-rivals Real Madrid this time as Los Blancos lifted their 34th La Liga trophy. For cules, the manner of conceding the title was harder to digest than the loss itself.
Competing neck to neck with Real Madrid until the pandemic struck, Blaugranas lost crucial points against Sevilla, Celta Vigo, Atletico Madrid, and Osasuna, respectively, thus failing to stretch the league outcome until the final game week.
Not only has Barcelona struggled sporting-wise, but the club has also faced a slew of problems in their background operations. Firstly, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the Catalan club financially on a significant magnitude.
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Secondly, there are issues over manager Quique Setien, thus far, failing to convince the players to engross his vision. The gaffer, invariably, garners scrutiny from his squad members over how he manages the side tactically.
Lastly, there has been rising concerns over how the board members are conducting their business in the past few transfer markets. A recently executed swap deal of Arthur Melo and Miralem Pjanic has sparked genuine concerns over the ambitions of club insiders.
Lionel Messi, who has carried FC Barcelona on his own at various junctures of this campaign, was justifiably distraught after the club has suffered a disappointing 2019/20 campaign. Expressing his anguish, the 33-year-old said.
"“This game represents the entire year. We have been an erratic and weak team,”“Madrid did its part by winning all its matches, which is impressive, but we also helped them to win this league. We have to be critical of how we have played, starting with the players, and the rest of the club.”“We have lost because of our mistakes and not because of Madrid’s successes, as many say.” – Lionel Messi (quote via Daily Mail)"
Citing previous failures in the Champions League, the Argentine wizard is fearful of his side getting eliminated against Napoli if they don’t make substantial changes before the competition resumes in August.
"“If we’re not good enough for LaLiga, how will be good enough for the Champions League?”“Roma, Liverpool… the fans are running out of patience because we’re not giving them anything. If we want to fight for the Champions League, a lot has to change. Like this, we will lose to Napoli.”“I already said that if we carried on as we were, it wouldn’t be good enough in Europe. If we want to fight for the Champions League, we are going to need to change a lot.”"
More than anyone, Quique Setien has a dagger swinging over his future at the Camp Nou with mood around the club suggesting a slew of important decisions being made in the summer. As per reports, the manager held crisis talks with the president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, over his Blaugrana future.
As things stand, for now, the current manager has been assured that his job is secure for the upcoming Champions League assignment. The board members are confident that the coaching staff will drill some important changes before the European competition sets off.
On Sunday, Barcelona make a trip to Alaves for their last league fixture, a dead-rubber with Real Madrid, already, grabbing the title.
Do you think Quique Setien should stay at Barcelona?