Grading the 7 signings Barcelona made in 2018/19 season

#1 Arturo Vidal

Arturo Vidal arrived in Barcelona from Bayern Munich last summer and despite bringing a wealth of experience with him, there were many who doubted the sensibility of the deal. Many even questioned his suitability to Barcelona's style while his troublesome history did not sit well with some fans of the Blaugrana.

However, the Chilean international totally performed above expectations, blowing everyone away with his displays in the midfield.

Despite initially struggling for game-time, the 32-year-old was able to win Valverde over and was one of the strongest performers during Barcelona's run-in to the season.

Vidal offered a different dimension to the Barcelona midfield, with his combativeness and tenacity strengthening an otherwise feeble midfield, while also showing a willingness to contribute to attacks.

His best performance arguably came in the 3-0 victory over Liverpool in the first leg of the Champions League semifinal, where Vidal was absolutely unplayable, not giving the Liverpool players any breathing space and ensuring the ball did not get to their vaunted attack.

The former Bayern Munich and Juventus man started the season with criticism, but at the end of his first season at Camp Nou, there would be few people who would still be unconvinced about Vidal's usefulness to Barcelona.

Rating 4/5

About the author

Elvis is an avid football fan who has followed the sport dedicatedly for over 15 years.

His passion lies with the Super Eagles of Nigeria, while his all-time favorite player is Raul Gonzalez.

He watches all football matches, but has a bias for international football. He understands that the end justifies the means in football, and results are all that matters, but prefers the results being gotten in an aesthetic manner.

His writing reflects the way he lives his life, open-ended, with room for differing opinions. Other pastimes include reading and exploring the world.

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Edited by Sudeshna Banerjee