5 things Barcelona got wrong in 2017

#2 Wasting too much time behind Coutinho

Barcelona failed to sign Coutinho this summer

Barcelona failed to sign Coutinho this summer, after having four bids rejected by Liverpool. Apart from the transfer failure, they will also rue the time they frittered away in their attempts to land the Brazilian.

The Catalans lodged their first bid worth £72million on 21st July which was rebuffed by the Kop. The second bid of £90million came three weeks later on 9th August. Despite Liverpool repeatedly stating their adamance in retaining Coutinho, the Catalans lodged a third bid worth £118 million on 19th August.

Don't you think it would have been better had Barca turned their attention towards other alternatives instead of wasting nearly a month behind Coutinho? The after-effects of the saga were visible when they failed to land Angel Di Maria on deadline day with a £36 million bid, falling short of the mammoth £72 million PSG quoted for him.

Had they turned their attention towards the 29-year-old earlier, they could have succeeded in signing him for a lesser amount. Also, Di Maria would have been an instant fit at Barcelona, given his creative style of play and experience in the league. If not him, they could have looked at Mesut Ozil, who was keen on a transfer with just a year remaining on his contract back then.

With Barcelona again rumoured to be courting Coutinho in January, let's hope they don't commit the same mistake in the upcoming winter transfer window.