Paco Alcacer – 4/10
Probably the biggest disappointment for Barcelona was the €30m recruit from Valencia. Paco Alcacer was not signed to displace Luis Suarez as the #1 striker at Barcelona but to provide cover for their mercurial front three, as and when required, and to eventually lead the front line for the Catalan giants.
8 goals from 28 appearances is not what one would expect from someone aspiring to be the main man for Barcelona. Yes, the stats don’t speak the entire truth given that he didn’t start most of the games but his lack of conviction in shooting and his inability to score past the relatively weaker teams were the biggest alarming signs.
One season is too early to judge any player but at a club like Barcelona, chances are you might not get another season. After all, even Zlatan Ibrahimovic was shipped out at the end of his first season. Here’s hoping Alcacer can prove his critics wrong in the upcoming season, should he still be at the club.
Jeremy Mathieu – 4/10
Mathieu played a peripheral role during the course of the season but the signs of his decline were visible to one and all. Signed as a cover for the first-choice centre-backs three seasons ago, the Frenchman has played his part for most of it and it is time that he is let go by the Catalan giants so that he can end his career while he is still playing an integral part, albeit at a relatively smaller club.
Andre Gomes – 4.5/10
Until around April, Andre Gomes was easily Barcelona’s biggest flop signing of the summer transfer window. The Portuguese was signed from Valencia for circa €35m but failed to establish himself in the first team and for most parts of the campaign looked bereft of any sort of confidence.
It was towards the end of the campaign that he put up some good displays which has earned him a rating higher than Alcacer but apart from that there is not much of note that the Portuguese did. He was signed to solve the issues in Barcelona’s midfield but rather than improving it, one could argue, he made it much worse, compounding the issues of the Catalan side.
It is unlikely that he will be sold in the summer and will get another chance next season to prove himself to the hierarchy but early signs are that he will never be live up to the expectations at a club as big as Barcelona.
