After a turbulent summer, performing intricate financial maneuvers to cover the deficit, trying to offload unused players, getting rid of big contracts, and searching for low-cost players to sign, it seems as if Barcelona finally managed to steady the ship… at least for now.
Positive financial results
Over the past year and a half, Barcelona’s financial situation reached a critical point where they couldn’t meet LaLiga’s requirements for the salary cap, meaning that they couldn’t sign any more players.
It also meant that they were forced to offload Lionel Messi, the most successful player in the history of the club.
During the summer, they focused on finding solutions to cover all debt because they needed a squad to rehaul to continue competing at the highest level.
The sale of a percentage of commercial rights and a media company they owned meant that they registered a profit of 98 million euros in the past year. This allowed Barcelona not only being able to sign new players but to register them while respecting the salary cap imposed by the local league regulations.
New incomers are having an impact
Without a doubt, Polish Robert Lewandowski has filled the void left by the departure of club idol Lionel Messi. Talking in footballing terms, he’s become the player that’s carrying the team toward victories, by scoring spectacular goals that have brought back optimism to the club fans.
It doesn’t look as if Lewandowski is saving any energy for the World Cup at the end of November. His national team is even more dependent than Barcelona on his performances and betting sites in Poland are offering great odds to clients choosing Lewandowski as the top goalscorer of the World Cup. Fans will have the chance to bet on this and many other markets during the World Cup, including betting on the outcome of games where Barcelona players will be participating, and all from safe and secure platforms.
Other internationals such as Danish Andreas Christensen, French Jules Koundé, and Brazilian Raphinha are also contributing to the team with great performances and starting most games since they arrived.
Xavi is having a positive impact on the squad
The rest of the squad is greatly improving under Xavi Hernández since the appointment of the coach in November 2021.
One of his biggest triumphs was to resuscitate the career of Ousmane Dembélé, a player who barely played games due to physical fitness issues the past years and who was on the list of expendables a couple of months ago. Xavi personally requested him to stay, and now Dembélé is one of the players with the most minutes played this season, and his performances are making him one of the fans’ favorites this season.
Young starlets such as Pedri and Gavi have also become first-team starters this season and their displays with the Blaugrana shirt have made them become starters for the Spanish national team and will surely play the World Cup this year.
Another player who was having a dip in his performance was German goalkeeper, Marc André Ter Stegen. This season, he has returned to get fans used to magnificent saves, and he’s the goalkeeper with the least goals against this season in Spain.
The real challenges still lie ahead
It remains to be seen how Barcelona will fare in such a long season. With the World Cup in between, starting players will return with a heavy burden for the second part of the season.
In the last few weeks, the team has been struggling to provide cover for the injured players that returned from the international break with their national teams.
Ronald Araujo and Jules Kounde remain on the sidelines and the replacements, Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba haven’t looked good on the pitch when having to rely on them.
It seems as if Barcelona still don’t have a solid 23-man squad, and the most experienced players can’t catch up with the speed of the game and struggle to defend the space on their backs.
Xavi will need to think about a plan B when his first team isn’t available at 100%. The season is just beginning and more injuries on players will be an issue to deal with it. It’s more a question of “when?” rather than “if?”.
