Barcelona, over the recent years, has established itself as the premium footballing fraternity and with that comes the responsibility to outperform the opposition week after week. However, in their bid to do so, the club has often had to prefer a certain set of players over extended periods of time while a number of players, who made their dream move to the Camp Nou, finally see the larger picture and decide to move away from the club.
In this segment, we take a look at 5 Former Barcelona players, who were shipped out by the club, but are impressing with their performances in the current season.
#1 Oriol Romeu
Romeu learnt his trade at La Masia, after moving from fellow Catalan club and rivals Espanyol at the start of the 2008 season. While he tipped to make the first team in a matter of time, the defensive midfielder was largely restricted to appearances for the Reserves side and made just 2 appearances for Barca before moving to Chelsea in the summer of 2011.
5 years later and after spells at Chelsea, Valencia and Vfb Stuttgart, the player has finally found extended playing time at his latest club, Southampton. Perhaps, the departures of Morgan Schneiderlin and Victor Wanyama have helped his cause. However, it needs to be mentioned that the Spaniard has been in fine form for the Saints.
In the current season, Romeu has missed just one season in the League for the Saints and is being cited as one of the reasons the Saints have been in fine form defensively. Romeu has been effective as the defensive midfielder of his side, making frequent tackles, winning aerial duels at a consistent frequency as well as disrupting the opposition’s rhythm with well-envisaged interceptions.
At 25 years of age, the player is approaching what is often termed as the peak years of a midfielder and should he continue with the form he has been in, he could establish himself as the foundation of Southampton’s ascent to English football.
#2 Thiago Alcantara
Though the Italy-born Spaniard was touted to be the future of the Barcelona midfield, after impressing with his creative instincts during his time at the club, with the youth and the senior side, Alcantara moved to Bayern Munich after Pep Guardiola took over the reins of the club and has been in phenomenal form in the current season.
While it was largely believed that Barcelona had made the player unapproachable by slapping a release clause of €90 million on him, the club had to let him leave to Bayern for a fee believed to be in the region of €25 million after failing to have him enough on the field to activate his release clause and their inability to do so might still be haunting the club’s hierarchy.
The midfielder, who is renowned for his creative instincts has been his side’s creator in chief this season and has also found the back of the net thrice to help them climb atop the Bundesliga table going into the Christmas break. However, what has impressed us most is his development as an all-round midfielder who can break an attack and turn the game on it’s head with his ability on the ball.
His current contract runs until the end of the 2019 season and with the player showing an inclination to play under Pep, don’t be surprised if he makes a move to the English shores anytime soon. As for Barcelona, his departure will continue to haunt them despite their dominant position.
#3 Adama Traore
Adama Traore has found a mention on numerous lists that single out talented youngsters for greatness and rightly so. A lightening quick winger who has shown the ability to utilise his pace, power as well as skill on the ball to get behind the opposition’s defence, Traore joined Barcelona’s academy as an 8-year-old and was promoted to the reserves side at the age of 17, where he continued to impress.
However, in the 11 years he was with the Catalan giants, Traore featured in just 4 games and with the plethora of talent existent at the club, decided that a move away from Barcelona would do his footballing career a world of good.
After spending a season at the Villa Park, Traore moved to Middlesbrough and is beginning to impress with the Boro unit. In the current season, Traore has completed a whopping 59 take-ons, which translates into a successful take-on every 10 minutes, which serves as an indication of his ability with the ball at his feet.
While he might not be creating chances at a regular frequency or scoring goals for fun, the player has had a positive impact for Middlesbrough and after finding first-team action hard to come by, he is finally proving to be an invaluable asset at the Riverside stadium and could prove to be an absolute bargain for the club.
#4 Dani Alves
The Brazilian arrived at Barcelona in 2008 after a successful 6-year stint with Sevilla and soon established himself as his side’s first choice right-back. However, after 8 years with the club, and with 2 more years left on his contract, Alves was released by Barcelona and was subsequently snapped up by Italian Champions Juventus, where he continues to impress.
A quintessential Brazilan who mixes flair with footballing ability, Alves has been renowned for his attacking prowess and can prove to be a handful for the opposition with his marauding runs down the flank while also ensuring that he did his fair share of defensive work.
In the current season, the Brazilian has made 13 appearances for the Turin club and has impressed during his time on the pitch. He has found the back of the net twice, assisted 2 more and has also created chances at a regular frequency to help his side assert their dominance in the Italian League. On the rear end of the pitch, he averages over 2 successful tackles per game and has shown an ability to break up play with his pace and physical prowess.
Barcelona, on the other hand, have found it tough to replace the man who made the right-back position his own and perhaps, with him amidst their ranks, the side could have been in a better position in the La Liga.
#5 Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Ibrahimovic arrived at the Camp Nou in the summer of 2009 in a five-year deal after impressing during his time at Ajax and Inter Milan in a move that would unite him with the footballing fraternity’s leading figures. However, just a season after his arrival, the Swedish superstar, who had already established himself as one of the finest strikers the game of football had even witnessed, was forced to leave the Catalan giants for AC Milan, despite scoring 21 goals in 45 appearances for the club.
With the outspoken Swede confirming that Pep Guardiola was the reason he switched clubs, the footballing community and Barcelona fans have been critical of the Spanish manager’s man-management skills.
After successful years with Milan and Paris Saint-Germain, the Swede is currently with Manchester United, under former manager Jose Mourinho and is proving to be an astute buy by the Red Devils. Ibra has scored 16 goals in 25 appearances and has also assisted one more to directly play a hand in close to 37% of the goals his side have scored in all competitions.
While age has left great players redundant, at 35 years of age, Ibrahimovic only seems to be getting better. We would not be surprised if Manchester United agree to extend his contract by another year as the player can prove to be right short term fix for Jose Mourinho and co.
