FC Barcelona find themselves three points behind league leaders Real Madrid, having played a game more than Los Blancos. Although Barcelona have still shown glimpses of their usual best, they have been rather underwhelming this season, especially in Europe.
They were beaten 4-0 by PSG and 3-0 by Juventus, both away from home. Barcelona, who are recognised as having one of or the best attack in world football, were humiliated in both of these matches.
If the Catalan giants are to re-establish themselves as the best in the world and win the Champions League, they will need to sell some players in the summer. These five players could be sold by Barca this summer due to their poor performances.
#5 Andre Gomes
To sign for Barcelona, a player must be extremely talented, and Andre Gomes is exactly that. However, his performances since moving to the Nou Camp have been very disappointing.
When given the opportunity, the central midfielder has often shown he does not have enough quality to play for a side as big as Barcelona.
In each game he has played, the Portuguese international hasn’t shown anything spectacular that would suggest he will be at the club in the long term. Additionally, the games in which he has played in, he hasn’t impressed Barcelona fans, with many of them being angry when he is given the chance to start.
It’s been proven that it takes somebody extremely talented, like Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Rakitic and Sergio Busquets to roam within the Barcelona midfield. Unfortunately, this is a talent that Gomes doesn’t have.
Gomes could probably play for most of the sides in La Liga, as he proved at Valencia. He may go out on loan before leaving but for Barcelona to improve, he should not be a part of their future.
#4 Rafinha
Rafinha, an academy graduate, was just beginning to feature for Barcelona, before he was recently ruled out for the rest of the season.
However, he was playing at right back which isn’t his natural position. This illustrates that, with the current centre midfielders above him in the pecking order, and with him only having a role at right back currently, there will be no space for Rafinha within the squad next season.
Persistent injuries have plagued his professional Barcelona career with the Brazilian struggling to prove himself to manager Luis Enrique.
Rafinha has certainly shown glimpses of magic since moving from Barcelona B to the first team. However, many feel, similarly to Gomes, that he isn’t good enough to play in the middle of a free-flowing passing side like Barcelona.
The Brazilian therefore seems destined to be sold this summer by the Spanish giants due to his limited game time in his normal position and the fact that he is now unable to prove himself at right back because of a long term injury.
Also Read: Ranking the players of Barcelona B team
#3 Jeremy Mathieu
Jeremy Mathieu, who has now been at Barcelona for three years, has never been good enough to play at the club. The defender, unlike Gerard Pique, Samuel Umtiti and Javier Mascherano, has very little ability with the ball, a skill which is necessary to even play in defence for Barcelona.
When he does play for Barcelona, he is an easy target for opposing teams who will press the Frenchman when he receives the ball. He also lacks speed, which makes Barcelona more vulnerable when they play with a very high line.
In Barcelona’s 3-0 loss to Juventus, Mathieu started the game and was eventually hauled off at half time as he failed to win a single tackle. Steven Gerrard, in the BT Sport studio said: “I don’t know how Jeremy Mathieu is wearing a Barcelona shirt.”
It is clear Mathieu is not up to the level to play for Barcelona and he should certainly be sold this summer if they wish to improve.
#2 Paco Alcacer
Paco Alcacer is still very young at just 23 years of age. However, that is the clear problem, it appears he has moved to Barcelona too soon.
The Spanish forward scored an important goal in Barcelona’s 3-2 win over Real Sociedad at the weekend, but that is one of his very few important contributions for the Spanish side. Through no fault of his own, he finds himself on the bench week in week out. This is not very surprising, due to the talent of Luis Suarez, Neymar and Lionel Messi.
Despite him mainly being given opportunities from the bench, Alcacer isn’t good enough to play for a side like Barcelona. Having had Samuel Eto’o, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez all lead the line for Barca, it is unlikely Alcacer is going to follow in their footsteps.
He is a young talent, but is unlikely to be part of a Barcelona’s next manager’s plans if he intends on making Barcelona the best side in the world again.
#1 Lucas Digne
The French full back Lucas Digne has struggled to convince Barcelona fans and even Luis Enrique he is good enough to play for Barcelona. The left back was initially brought in as cover for Jordi Alba. However, Alba’s poor performances gave Digne some unexpected game time.
He has failed to take advantage of that and confirm himself as first choice left back with Enrique even choosing to play Mathieu at left back against Juventus in front of Digne, demonstrating how highly he thinks of the full back.
Additionally, rumours have been surfacing that Digne will be on the transfer or loan list this summer, suggesting whoever deals with Barcelona’s transfers understands that he isn’t up to the level of a standard Barcelona player.
Digne’s lack of athleticism and ability going forward means he will always be struggling to fit into the Barcelona team. For that reason, he is a player who is likely to be either loaned out or sold in the summer.
