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August 15, 2020, was a day every Barca fan would pay to forget. All Barca fans took to social media that day to call for change. The consequences of the 8-2 pounding at the hands of Bayern were aplenty.
Pique offered to make way for youngsters to step up and lead a complete overhaul. Manager Quique Setien was immediately sacked - a welcome decision.
In a few days' time, Lionel Messi himself asked to leave. The fact that he was forced to stay for another year over a technicality in his contract did not show Barcelona in a good light either.
Ronald Koeman left his role as coach of the Dutch national team to join Barcelona as manager amidst the turmoil, followed by midfielders Vidal and Rakitic leaving for Inter and Sevilla.
This was preceded by the disgraceful exit of Luis Suarez from the club in the month of September. He was left off a list of "untouchables" by President Bartomeu and out of Koeman's plans for the upcoming season.
Suarez's move to direct rivals Atletico was the latest addition to Bartomeu's long list of transfer blunders. For many of the club's supporters, this was the final nail in the coffin for him as president.
In October, Josep Maria Bartomeu tendered his long overdue resignation after months and months of protests by Barca supporters. While the public was still divided over Koeman, there was hope that the next president would reform the club.
This would shine a light on the path to recovery, both economically and on the field.
Laporta was elected the new Barca President
In 5 months' time, when Joan Laporta was re-elected as President, that sense of hope was renewed. While Barca had gotten off to one of their poorest starts of the season, Laporta's re-entered office during an upturn in Barcelona's form and fortunes.
They were on a good run of form in La Liga, losing just one of 27 matches following their defeat to Cadiz in December. A historic 31st Copa Del Rey was the icing on the cake as Messi seemed to be enjoying his football once again as well. Things were looking bright after a long, long time for the Catalans.
But what followed was nothing short of a disaster. Barca had hauled themselves back into the title race, within touching distance of pole position in the league table. However, Koeman and Barca once again started to falter in the games that mattered towards the end of the season.
A loss to Real Madrid in El Clasico was followed by a defeat against Getafe. Subsequent draws against Levante and eventual champions Atletico meant it was curtains on their hopes of winning the title.
It could've been a miraculous turnaround for such a troubled club.
Such a bitter end to the campaign understandably left many displeased with Koeman's tactical abilities. It was widely expected that he'd be the first to exit the Camp Nou. However, in recent days, Laporta has reiterated his faith in the Dutchman.
Nonetheless, a lot of gaps have been exposed in the team setup and several transfers, both in and out, are expected. On that count, Joan Laporta hasn't disappointed so far. Here we take a look at how Barca and Laporta are on their way to one of their best transfer windows in a long, long time.
Three days. Three Barca signings.
31st May - Barca present Kun Aguero
June 1st - Eric Garcia returns to Barcelona
June 2nd - Emerson Royal is brought back from Real Betis
With the transfer window barely open, Laporta had already jumped right down to business. Barcelona were making a statement and giving hints of everything that was yet to come.
Smart Choices
Many have ridiculed Barca for only snapping up free agents. But the fact is that when you find yourself facing a debt of one and a half billion dollars, there's pretty much nothing you can do about it.
Yet, Laporta has found a way to do his business economically AND effectively. The signings so far have been nothing short of brilliant.
Barca scored 117 goals last season and 38 of those came off Messi's boot, with Griezmann a distant second best with 20. Signing Aguero adds a proven source of goals in bulk, slightly reducing the goalscoring pressure on Leo. He fills the void left by Suarez's departure, at least in the short term.
The Aguero signing gives Barca a few years of breathing space in their pursuit of other young talents upfront. No one can question Aguero's quality in front of goal. His age might become a factor in the years to come, but for now he's still one of the best No.9's in the world, and few will disagree with that.
Bringing Garcia into the squad now means that Barca have some of the best young centrebacks in the world, with Mingueza and Araujo also enjoying breakthrough seasons at the club. Barca's aging defense was a major thorn in their flesh this year.
Eric most certainly adds strength to what has been one of the flimsiest defenses in Europe this past season. Alongside Araujo, he has the ability to form one of the most lethal centreback pairings in the years to come.
Emerson is a well-rounded player, and signing him back for 9 million euros was a smart move in the sense that he is arguably the only complete full-back in the squad at the moment. David Alba and Sergino Dest are undoubtedly good on their day.
But Alba lacks defensive strength while Dest is yet to build up the composure he needs at both ends of the pitch. So adding Emerson to the team balances the choices Ronald Koeman will have going into the 2021-22 season.
It allows him the freedom to experiment with Dest on the left and give Alba some breaks to keep him fresh for the big games.
Competition within the squad
Possibly the biggest plus point of the additions of Emerson, Garcia and Aguero is that they bring with them competition for places in the Barca XI.
Pique, Lenglet and Umtiti were far from their best with Pique repeatedly struggling with injuries. Yet they played a combined 6444 minutes across all competitions last season because of sheer necessity.
The likes of Minqueza and Araujo delivered consistent performances, but even they were found lacking at times because of the lack of competition for places within the squad.
The same could be said of Sergino Dest and Antoine Griezmann. To some extent, both of them became complacent and while Griezmann has had a terrific 2021 so far, Dest never really found his mojo in the 41 matches he played.
The possibility of losing their place in the squad might just be the incentive they need to train harder and justify their selection in this team.
Resolving Barca's faltering finances
Barca's finances have for long been their biggest problem. But under Laporta, so far, they have shown incredible maturity money-wise. There have been reports that a number of star players have agreed to take pay-cuts.
With Garcia and Aguero coming in as free agents, and Emerson for a mere 9 million euros - the only thing remaining, finance-wise, is to sell off some deadwood to balance the books.
Then comes the curious case of Georginio Wijnaldum. When PSG lured him away with extra cash, Barca remained stoic with their offer and that says a lot. Because had this still been Bartomeu's reign, we would have been guaranteed a bidding war with one of the richest clubs in the world.
This would have eventually meant squandering a lot of money for an aging player. But what Barca's take it or leave it offer suggests is that Barca know what they want, they know their limits, and have contingencies in place. That speaks volumes about Joan Laporta's thought process right now.
This is further evidenced by Donarumma's situation. There was no way Ter Stegen was going to leave the club, and with Donarumma's hefty wages, he was never a realistic candidate for FCB. Yet, somehow, Barca remained in the mix and caused his price to rise for the likes of Juventus and PSG.
What this has done is strengthened bonds with his agent Raiola for future transfers, and as one fan put it - these are just 'Laporta things'.
The Messi situation
Messi's contract talks could go either way, but signing Aguero definitely increases the chances of Messi staying at Barca. Laporta's project also seemingly impresses him, and the president himself thinks things are going well with Leo.
But ultimately no one but the man himself will have a say in this and all we can do is hope he extends his contract and stays on at Barca for a year or two.
Barca's potential departures and signings
The deal for Memphis Depay is almost done, which will be just another genius deal given the red-hot form he is in. Also, with Ansu Fati's injury struggles, adding cover for him on the left-wing is only logical. Signing another center back, preferably left-footed, like Pau Torres or Aymeric Laporte, should be a priority as well. If that does happen, most of Barca's on-paper problems will be visibly solved. How Koeman executes his plans on the field will remain to be seen.
Selling fringe players like Coutinho, Umtiti, Lenglet, Fernandes, Neto, Roberto, Pjanic, Alena and Braithwaite is also essential to raising funds. In such a situation, there's no man better than Laporta to oversee their exits. There have been multitudes of reports involving a number of these players.
Everton and Arsenal have shown interest in Coutinho. Alena and Trincao have been linked with Wolves, while Pjanic might return to Italy. Rumors of a swap deal with Man City involving Roberto have been doing the rounds as well.
Braithwaite is understood to have accepted the situation and is ready to move on as well, with teams showing interest in him.
While none of these reports have been confirmed yet, these are encouraging signs of the direction in which the club is headed. Barca supporters will trust Laporta to make the most of every situation and his business sense is exactly what the club needs in these times of uncertainty.
With Nico Gonzalez extending his contract as well, there is some good business happening all round at Barca. He is expected to be promoted to the first team alongside Collado this season and is seen as a potential successor to Sergio Busquets.
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Overall, Barca's potential 2021-22 squad depth is simply astonishing. If Laporta and Koeman can herd their troops well, it could be one of Barca's best seasons in the last few years.
With Messi nearing the end of his career at the Camp Nou, a strong showing in his twilight seasons could be the perfect tonic for the horrors of August 2020. It is fair to say that Barcelona supporters deserve that closure.
FC Barcelona Potential Squad 2021-22 (* Potential transfers in/out)
Goalkeepers: Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Neto*, Inaki Pena
Defenders: Jordi Alba, Sergino Dest, Emerson Royal, Eric Garcia, Ronald Araujo, Oscar Mingueza, Gerard Pique, Clement Lenglet*, Junior Firpo*, Samuel Umtiti*, Pau Torres*
Midfielders: Sergio Busquets, Nico Gonzalez, Carles Alena*, Miralem Pjanic*, Phillipe Coutinho*, Riqui Puig, Matheus Fernandes*, Sergi Roberto*, Frenkie De Jong, Pedri
Forwards: Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann, Sergio Aguero, Martin Braithwaite*, Memphis Depay*, Ousmane Dembele, Ansu Fati, Francisco Trincao*, Alex Collado
