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Barcelona getting knocked out of the Champions League in the Round of 16 is now a genuine possibility, and there are some real causes for concern.
Barcelona suffered a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain. This is the first time in their history that Barcelona have suffered consecutive defeats at the Camp Nou in the UEFA Champions League.
Barcelona are third on the La Liga table, eight points off league leaders Atletico Madrid who also happen to have a game in hand. The Cules haven't fully found their feet after the implosion that happened at the club in the summer that saw various issues come to a head.
Without further ado, let's take a look at the changes that Barcelona need to make before next season.
5 changes Barcelona need to make before next season
#5 Sell aging players
Barcelona need to have a more youth-centric system as they are currently a bit too reliant on their veterans. Five of their senior players are over 30-years-old and most are on the decline. Gerard Pique is 34, Sergio Busquets is 32, Lionel Messi is 33, Jordi Alba is 31 and Miralem Pjanic is 30.
Sergi Roberto, Antoine Griezmann and Martin Braithwaite are all 29. Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Coutinho are 28. If you look at the list, it's easy to note that some of these players are not performing at the highest level. They earn a lot as wages too.
Barcelona need to sell players before they can buy new ones. It's time to drop the axe on some of these players so they can kickstart a squad rebuild which is indeed the need of the hour.
#4 Sign a striker
Letting Luis Suarez go has backfired for Barcelona. The Uruguayan had an illustrious career and he was shown the exit door in the summer in rather disgraceful fashion. It caused a huge outcry and even Lionel Messi publicly expressed his disappointment at the club's actions.
In the absence of Luis Suarez, Barcelona struggled to find goals, especially in the first half of the season. Martin Braithwaite has been nowhere near prolific and Griezmann took a while to hit his stride this season. Ronald Koeman had to rely on 18-year-old Ansu Fati for goals in the opening part of the season.
Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid's title-charge has been powered by Luis Suarez's goals. Barcelona need to sell some of their players and free up funds. They are in desperate need of a striker who can score more than 20 goals a season.
#3 Invest cautiously in the transfer window
Barcelona are in heavy debt and one of the primary reasons has to be their profligacy in the transfer market. Barcelona spent heavily on the acquisitions of Ousmane Dembele, Philippe Coutinho and Antoine Griezmann.
Frenkie De Jong was signed for €75 million and Paulinho was roped in for €40 million. None of these signings have really worked to the extent that they were expected to. A lot of the signings were simply not a good fit.
Barcelona need to be careful about spending money and they cannot afford to falter anymore. They need to bring in new players but they ought to do their homework and make wiser investments.
#2 Barcelona need to let Lionel Messi go
Lionel Messi is arguably the best player to have ever worn a Barcelona jersey. He has been a one-club man all his life. In an interesting turn of events, however, Lionel Messi informed the club last summer that he wanted to leave.
However, no club had the financial clout to sign him for the amount stipulated in his contract and he ended up staying at the club. The speculation over his future is rife and it is most definitely a distraction for the club as a whole.
Moreover, Lionel Messi's contract details were leaked recently and it is now clear to everyone that Barcelona will be much better off if they can get him off their payroll given the horrible state of their financial affairs.
It's not a relationship that is working anymore and it certainly is not financially viable for Barcelona to keep it going. The Blaugrana have been overreliant on Messi for a long time now and it's time for the club to choose a different path and not have the team built around any particular player.
#1 Back Ronald Koeman
Barcelona cannot keep changing managers and expect to have any sort of stability. Ronald Koeman's project has shown promise and he should be given time. He hasn't been able to bring in the players he wants so far due to a multitude of reasons.
Ernesto Valverde and Quique Setien were not given time but Ronald Koeman ought to be. The club needs to back him in the transfer market and get him the personnel he needs.
They ought to start looking at long-term goals and treat the revival as a process. Success is not going to return at the snap of a finger. They need to restore stability at the top.
Players take time to adapt to the changes every time a new manager is brought in and if they keep changing managers, they will end up creating an environment that does not facilitate progress.
