5 things Barcelona got wrong in 2017

#4 Failure in improving the squad

Andre Gomes has failed to reach the expected levels at Nou Camp

Ask yourself. Does the current squad of the Catalans resemble the one they had nearly a decade ago? Most certainly not. There's so much work to be done, yet the Barcelona board doesn't seem to be too bothered.

Let's start with the defence. The Catalans are yet to find a worthy successor for the evergreen Dani Alves, with Sergi Roberto competing against Nelson Semedo and filling in as the makeshift right-back at present. Coming to the centre-backs, Samuel Umtiti and Gerard Pique are lacking good back-ups with Vermaelen failing to impress and Mascherano approaching the twilight of his career.

The midfield area needs to be given crucial attention because it has always held paramount importance in Barcelona's style of play. Andres Iniesta is already 33 and the officials have failed to find a worthy successor for the Spanish wizard.

They failed to land major transfer targets, while the midfielders they signed last year have failed to match the expected standards. With the current crop of midfielders including Gerard Deulofeu, Denis Suarez, Paulinho, Aleix Vidal, Barcelona are not the force they used to be in the Guardiola era.

The Blaugrana had a chance to make amends in January, but they opted against signing any player in the transfer market. The incompetent transfer decisions are showing their after-effects at present.

The unimproved squad takes us to our next point that is...