Aside from being Barça’s most expensive signing, the salary figures that emerge at the time of Coutinho’s transfer remind us of the horror story that has been Barça’s last glory. With the departure of the Brazilian, however, not only economic burden is released, but also a sports slab that has not contributed anything even when Koeman and Xavi tried to recover it following the transfer to Bayern. A waste of time that cannot be repeated with other members of the staff of little importance and even less future.
An example: Xavi invented Ferran Jutglà as a center forward when he lost Memphis to injury in mid-December. Well, now that he is regarding to reappear, I want to believe that it will be the Dutchman, who has gone from strength to strength since he landed at the Camp Nou, who will have to prove that he is more useful to the team than Jutglà. What Abde. And by that, of course, I’m not saying that Memphis has no more trajectory and quality than two dwarfs that no one expected in the first team and that they have few games on the resume, but I do find it essential to weigh performance above gallons .
In this sense, Xavi was clear enough when he announced that, once the lineups stop coming out on their own due to injuries and covid, he will encourage competition and meritocracy, and that it will be the performance that will determine who enters at eleven. If Busquets continues to be the best midfielder in the squad at Xavi’s discretion – and mine, too – no problem for him to be untouchable. That Piqué has taken a metaphorical step forward and a few literals on the pitch since Xavi’s arrival is evidence that keeps him as a fixed piece and will force Eric, Araujo and company to row a lot to keep him away from the ‘axis of defense. And there is still no one in the squad who can improve Alba’s performance in the left lane, so it is understandable that Xavi blindly trusts him. But let it be by the choice of the coach and not by decree, one of the main evils of the club’s five-year breakdown.
Dembélé deserves a separate chapter, more talented than any other current Barça striker. I understand that Xavi needs him for the present, but I think that the questionable commitment of the Frenchman to the future of the team and the club should make him the exception to a rule that must be sacred once more: that of performance . Because coming back, as Laporta and Xavi proclaim, also means that no player will be above the club once more.
