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Barcelona are one of the most admired and respected clubs in the history of 'the beautiful game'. It's a dream for most players to strut their stuff for either Barcelona or Real Madrid.
Both clubs have been able to field some of the best players the game has ever seen. That kind of legacy is hard to overlook. But signing for a big club does not immediately mean success. A new club arrives with a fresh set of challenges.
Big clubs like Barcelona have very limited room for experimenting
At big clubs like Barcelona, it's easy to get sidelined if you're not in contention for a starting berth. That could happen for a multitude of reasons and it's not anyone's fault. But at times, clubs can get a little callous with players whom they deem surplus to requirements.
Top talents could be removed from the fray after a couple of poor performances as expectations are constantly sky high. Coming back from a slump at a team like Barcelona can be extremely difficult. A lot of players have suffered in that manner.
Without further ado, let's take a look at five players who were ruined by Barcelona.
#5 Alen Halilovic
18-year-old Alen Halilovic was signed in the summer of 2014 for a sum of just €2.2 million. He seemed like an absolute steal at the time as he had already been likened to Lionel Messi owing to his silky dribbling ability.
Unfortunately for Halilovic, he pulled up at Barcelona at a time when the MSN trio were running riot in Europe. These were crucial years in Halilovic's development and he stagnated.
The following summer, Halilovic was loaned out to Sporting Gijon so he could get some valuable minutes under his belt. The wide attacking midfielder made 36 appearances for Sporting Gijon, scoring three goals and providing five assists.
It was simply not enough to impress Barcelona manager Luis Enrique and they made the call to sell Halilovic in the summer of 2016. He is currently plying his trade for English second-flight side Birmingham City.
He wasted his most important years at Barcelona and the club were too caught up in their drive for success to tend to him in the way he perhaps deserved.
#4 Alexander Hleb
Belarusian midfielder Alexander Hleb was part of the Arsenal side that made it to the 2006 Champions League final. Over the next couple of years, he would establish himself as one of their most exciting players before copping a surprise move to Barcelona in 2008.
It is a decision that Hleb would come to regret. He spent just one year at Barcelona and mostly came off the bench during the 2008-09 season. He did win the treble with the Catalans but couldn't really play much of a role in that.
Unhappy with the lack of playing time, Hleb didn't want to spend his best years warming the bench. He sought to leave and after rejecting the opportunity to join Inter Milan, he signed for VfB Stuttgart on loan. The next summer he was shipped out to Birmingham City. In 2011, Hleb moved to Wolfsburg on yet another loan deal.
Hleb's contract with the Catal was mutually terminated a year later and he has never been able to play for a club of Arsenal's or Barcelona's stature. Barcelona took his best years and made nothing out of it.
#3 Bojan Krkic
Bojan Krkic was touted as the 'next Lionel Messi' during his early years and was hailed as a treasure by then Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard. The youngster had broken Messi's record for being the youngest player to feature for Barcelona's senior side.
In his first season for the Barcelona senior team, he scored 12 goals and provided six assists in 48 appearances. Mind you, he was just 17-years-old at the time. So the hype seemed real. However, Rijkaard was replaced by Pep Guardiola and he wanted Bojan to go back to playing for the Barcelona B team.
Having already shone for the senior side, the decision wasn't welcomed by Bojan. He still played a starring role in Barcelona's Copa Del Rey triumph in the 2008-09 season, scoring five goals in the tournament.
His involvement declined further over the next couple of seasons as his relationship with Guardiola deteriorated. AS Roma finally signed Bojan in 2011 for €12 million. He failed to make an impact at the Serie A club and returned to Barcelona in the summer of 2013.
However, he was loaned out to Ajax and failed to settle down there as well. He is currently a free-agent and most recently played for MLS outfit Montreal Impact from August 2019 to the end of the MLS 2020 season.
Bojan looked set to become a superstar at Barcelona following his breakout season. Had Barcelona nurtured his talent, he could have gone on to make the most of his potential. But Guardiola didn't seem interested and it simply wasn't to be.
#2 Ousmane Dembele
It's been four years since Barcelona signed Ousmane Dembele from Borussia Dortmund for a fee of €105 million rising to €145 million with add-ons. At the time, he was touted as a future Ballon d'Or winner.
He is yet to justify his price tag and after being brought in as a like-for-like replacement for Neymar, Dembele has only impressed in parts. The 2020-21 season was his best so far and he could still conjure up only 11 goals and five assists in 44 appearances across all competitions.
Dembele's constant injury problems and disciplinary issues have definitely contributed to his situation. But the fact of the matter is that he wasn't ready to make a move to as big a club as Barcelona in 2017.
He should have had at least two more years of experience before being jolted into high-pressure situations week in and week out. The expectations that came with a price tag as hefty and the mismanagement that had crippled Barcelona all contributed to his not shining.
Dembele could yet go onto truly deliver and realize his potential. But it seems like it's going to be a long way back for the Frenchman. He is currently sidelined for a while after suffering a knee injury in France's final group stage game at Euro 2020. The 24-year-old has undergone surgery and will be out of action until the end of October.
#1 Philippe Coutinho
If Barcelona's recruitment system was top-notch, they might not have broken the bank to sign Philippe Coutinho. The Brazilian midfielder was tearing it up for Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool and had become one of the most sought-after attacking midfielders in the game.
Barcelona was Coutinho's dream destination. At first glance, he looked like a perfect fit for the Catalans as well. He was a slick passer of the ball, showcased great vision, could take defenders on and beat them and could also produce thunderous strikes from range.
Coutinho arrived halfway through the 2017-18 season. He had a good half-season with Barcelona, scoring seven goals and providing six assists in 18 La Liga appearances. But his contributions started to dwindle in the 2018-19 campaign.
This happened largely due to Coutinho being deployed as a left-winger and not as an attacking midfielder. In 54 appearances across all competitions in the 2018-19 season, the Brazilian scored 11 goals and provided just five assists.
He was then shipped to Bayern Munich on loan for the 2019-20 season. Coutinho shone for Bayern Munich and even though he wasn't a regular starter, he played a starring role from the bench in several games.
He was part of the Bayern Munich side that beat Barcelona 8-2 in the 2019-20 Champions League quarter-final and even scored two goals in that game. But he returned to Barcelona in the summer of 2020. Up until he suffered a knee injury, Coutinho did a decent job in the 2020-21 season.
He scored three goals and provided two assists in 14 appearances for the Catalans across all competitions this past season. The 29-year-old could yet be offloaded for a measly price this transfer window due to Barcelona's financial situation.
Coutinho was on the way to superstardom and could have easily played a huge role in Liverpool's recent success. He missed out on all that just to be labeled the biggest flop in Barcelona's transfer history.
