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There is no hiding the fact that Barcelona are going through arguably their worst period in the modern era. But the mood around Camp Nou has been livened up thanks to a brilliant January transfer window.
Blaugrana have struggled for form this campaign and have also been struggling financially, which even forced them to part ways with Lionel Messi in the summer. The Spanish giants are still paying for the financial recklessness of the previous administration. But the work being done by Joan Laporta, Mateu Alemany & co. deserves all the plaudits.
There is still plenty of work to be done to get Barcelona back to its glory days. But the way they have operated during the winter transfer window should be enough for the fans to believe in the team once again.
Barcelona have significantly improved their squad in January
Xavi Hernandez's side made several crucial additions to their squad who can lead them for a strong push in the second half of the 2021-22 campaign.
The Catalan giants signed club legend veteran right back Dani Alves in November on a free transfer and were successfully able to register him in January. He has already started hitting the ground even at the age of 38.
Barcelona also managed to sign versatile forward Ferran Torres from Manchester City and he has also made a solid immediate impact.
Adama Traore has also been brought back to the club on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers. While there remains concerns regarding his end product, the Spaniard still adds plenty of unique qualities to the Barca attack.
Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang moved to Camp Nou on deadline day on a free transfer. He should prove to be a quality signing for a player who did not cost the club a penny and also accepted minimal wages.
The offloading of Philippe Coutinho, on loan to Aston Villa, was also a major positive for the Catalan giants as they got rid of his massive wages. The club were also able to get rid of Yusuf Demir, who had fallen out of favour under Xavi.
Blaugrana also had to lower Samuel Umtiti's wages to be able to register Torres. The only negative for them during this window was their inability to get rid of Ousmane Dembele who has fallen completely out of favor at the club.
Barcelona fans have every reason to be optimistic
It will take time for the new Barcelona management to take the club back to its usual standards but fans can be assured that the club is on the right path.
Xavi Hernandez is slowly but surely making the Catalan giants tick on the pitch and the board is also trying their level best off the field.
Despite their up-and-down form in the first half of the season, Barcelona are still very much in the race to finish inside the top four in La Liga. That should be a solid achievement this season and a decent platform to build on for the next campaign.
They are also in the Europa League knockout stages so they still have a trophy to play for this season.
Ins: Ferran Torres (Manchester City, £46.3m), Fabio Blanco (Eintracht Frankfurt, £840k), Adama Traoré (Wolves, loan), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal, free)
Outs: Sergio Agüero (retired), Philippe Coutinho (Aston Villa, loan), Iñaki Peña (Galatasaray, loan)
