Barcelona have been notoriously bad in the transfer market in recent years. The club are in such a sticky financial situation that Lionel Messi left for PSG and players have had to cut their wages.
The Blaugrana have had a lot of expensive signings who didn’t perform on the pitch, so despite receiving a world record fee for Neymar in 2017, they find themselves in massive debt whilst also suffering on the pitch.
Some of these players have been such disasters that they were moved on after just a year: either sold to cut their losses or loaned out with a view to a permanent sale.
The last 10 players who didn’t last more than a season in a Barcelona shirt date back to 2002, with the ones in the last decade highlighting how the quality of direction at the club declined. Here’s how they got on.
Juan Roman Riquelme
The Argentine legend arrived from Boca Juniors in 2002 for around £10million and a lot of hype.
One of the most talented playmakers of his generation, Riquelme only spent one year in the Barcelona first team, with manager Louis van Gaal calling him a ‘political signing’ and eventually discarding him to make room for Ronaldinho.
Riquelme joined Villarreal, where he became a legend, but only scored six times in 42 games for Barcelona despite his world-class ability.
READ: A forensic analysis of Juan Roman Riquelme’s magnum opus v Real
Mark Van Bommel
The midfielder was signed by fellow Dutchman Frank Rijkaard on a free transfer from PSV Eindhoven in 2005, and performed fairly well in his 36 games for the club.
A year after his arrival Bayern Munich offered £6million for Van Bommel, and with Xavi, Deco, Iniesta, Thiago Motta and more in his position already, Barcelona sanctioned the sale.
Van Bommel won La Liga, and Barcelona made a profit. A successful endeavour for everyone.
Alexander Hleb
The Belarusian midfielder was a star at Arsenal, such that Barcelona parted with £12million in 2008 to bring him to the Camp Nou.
Hleb played 36 times in all competitions in his one season at the club, failing to score, and would never play for Barcelona again.
Loan spells to Stuttgart, Birmingham and Wolfsburg followed, before terminating his contract in January 2012 to join Krylia Sovetov in the Russian Premier League.
One season, no goals, and a lot of money down the drain, everyone regrets this deal, including Hleb himself.
READ: Alexander Hleb: I cried over Arsenal exit; most players regret leaving
Dmytro Chygrynskyi
The Ukrainian…
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