Messi left the team, Koeman was sacked, huge debts were entangled, and the performance on the pitch was low....... Nowadays, mentioning Barcelona seems to herald an apocalypse. However, looking back at 7 years ago, Barcelona had the honor of winning the Champions League, La Liga and the Copa del Rey with the Triple Crown. What has pushed Barcelona into the abyss? I am afraid it is closely related to a series of mediocre decisions made by the top management.
Neymar contract renewal fiasco
In 2016, Neymar renewed his contract with Barcelona for five years with a loyalty bonus of up to €40 million attached to the contract. Barcelona paid this bonus in stages, of which 14 million euros was paid by October 2016, and the remaining 26 million euros should be paid by July 30, 2017, before. However, Neymar suddenly joined Paris on August 3, and a dispute arose between the two sides over the €26 million loyalty bonus. Barcelona argued that Neymar decided to leave the team as early as the end of July 2017, and predicted the future when he clashed with his teammates in training. Neymar, on the other hand, insisted that he signed with Paris on August 3 and left Barcelona by triggering the liquidated damages, so Barcelona has no right to default on the bonus. This conflict stems from the negligence of the Barcelona hierarchy in signing the loyalty bonus clause.
Disastrous Reinforcement Decisions
Barcelona's decline is also closely linked to a series of failed reinforcements from the top. Between 2014-2019, Barcelona's reinforcement decisions have been nothing short of bizarre. 2014-15 saw disappointing performances from Douglas, Bravo, Mathieu and Vermaelen despite Luis Suarez, Rakitic and ter Stegen becoming key players in the team. 2015-16 saw Turan and A Vidal brought in for an eventual cost of €51 million but nothing came of it. The 2016-17 season saw the signings of Umtiti, Cillessen, Paco, Andre Gomes and Digne, with only Umtiti contributing to Barcelona.In 2017-18, after Neymar's departure, Barcelona used the Neymar transfer fee to sign the likes of Dembele, Deulofeu, Marrone, Mina and Philippe Coutinho, but Dembele was plagued by injuries and Philippe Coutinho was reduced to a chicken scratch. In subsequent years, players such as Artur, Todibo, Malcolm and Neto have also failed to bring success to Barcelona. It is worth mentioning that the joining of Griezmann is even more incredible.In 2019, Barcelona introduced Griezmann at a high price of 120 million euros, but two years later, he was rented back to Atletico Madrid, which is equivalent to sending Atletico Madrid a Felix for nothing.
Valverde's contract extension in doubt
Despite Valverde's Champions League fiasco for the second consecutive season, Barcelona fans are well known for their anger towards him. However, in the summer of 2019, the Barcelona hierarchy signed a contract extension with Valverde. Inexplicably, right after the dismissal of Valverde, the media broke the news that the Barcelona hierarchy had the idea of dismissing Valverde at the end of 2019. This kind of first renewed contract after dismissal of the "divine operation" is saddening.
Abidal's shellacking and Messi's counterattacks
In February 2020, Barcelona senior Abidal pointed out in a media interview that many players were disgruntled and had a poor work ethic. In response, Messi publicly disliked Abidal and asked him to clearly state the names of the disgruntled players or else he was undermining team unity.
"Self-Hacking Gate" incident (TV series)
In March 2020, Radio Sel suddenly broke the news that Barcelona had partnered with a PR firm called I3 Venture, paying nearly €1 million a year to smear current players such as Lionel Messi and Gerard Piqué, team legends such as Puyol and Pep Guardiola, as well as candidates for Barcelona's presidency, such as Laporta and Victor Fonte. This self-defeating move is mind-boggling.
"salary reduction" incident
In March 2020, Barcelona's financial situation became increasingly dire due to the epidemic. While claiming "positive results from the conversation with the captains about the pay cut", Bartomeu did not fully communicate the details of the pay cut to the players. Without the players being fully aware of the details of the pay cut, Bartomeu exaggerated the news to the media, resulting in the players being morally abducted by the top brass. Accept the pay cut? Lose 70% of their basic salary; don't accept the pay cut? The players will be labeled as "not sharing the club's difficulties".
