Four years ago, Barcelona had the most exciting front three in the world, with Messi, Neymar and Suarez leading the attack. In 2021, that changed to Depay, De Jong and Braithwaite.
While these players are in no way ‘bad’, they are clearly not on the same level as Messi, Neymar or Suarez. The attacking trio of MSN won the Champions League under the guidance of Luis Enrique, and all three of the Barcelona legends have now left the club.
Neymar joined PSG in the most expensive transfer in the history of football, while Luis Suarez was deemed surplus to requirements by Ronald Koeman last season. The Uruguayan joined Atletico Madrid and helped them win La Liga, finishing as one of the top scorers despite being discarded by the Blaugrana.
And this year, Lionel Messi left the club after spending over two decades with the Spanish giants. This is truly the end of an era for Barcelona and goes to show their downfall from the heights that they once achieved.
Aside from the fact it’s an option, not an obligation to buy, this looks an even bigger troll job by Atletico when you realise they could have offered to take Griezmann back earlier in the summer, when it might have helped Barcelona fit Messi’s new contract into their wage cap 😱
— Liam Twomey (@liam_twomey) August 31, 2021
One of the main reasons behind this is the mismanagement of the club by Josep Maria Bartomeu, the former President. Barcelona are currently in repair, and did away with Antoine Griezmann on deadline day. Had they decided to let him go earlier this season, they probably would have managed to retain Lionel Messi after all.
But while one era has ended for the Blaugrana, another has begun with the arrival of Memphis Depay, Luuk De Jong, Eric Garcia and Sergio Aguero at the club. With talented youngsters like Pedri, Ansu Fati, Riqui Puig, Oscar Mingueza, Frenkie De Jong and Yusuf Demir, Ronald Koeman will have the chance to start from scratch with fresh faces ready to take the club forward.
Barcelona have managed to strengthen areas like the attack, and the recruitment of Sergio Aguero, Memphis Depay and Eric Garcia on a free deal is the highlight of their business. Yusuf Demir is also proving to be a great prospect. On the topic of departures, players like Konrad de la Fuente, Trincao, Junior Firpo and Jean-Clair Todibo have left the club to clear the books.
As a result, Barcelona are in pole position to establish a new identity for themselves.
