In many ways, the internal affairs at FC Barcelona have been treated like a circus across the summer. Beyond just the fact that the club failed to deliver some key signings and left Hansi Flick’s squad in a position where it lacks depth, there were other issues as well. Across the board, the planning of Barcelona was heavily criticized.
Understandably, much of the blame and criticism has been directed towards Deco, the club’s sporting director. Beyond the arrival of a few players that were seen as being his personal favorites, other priority targets such as Nico Williams or even the arrival of a new defensive midfielder could not be sorted.
In fact, things have gotten so bad that many people have inevitably asked for the director’s departure from the club taking into account the great work done by his predecessor, Mateu Alemany. Now, in the latest update provided by SPORT on his future, this possibility of him leaving was studied and highlighted.
Furthermore, the report stated that the sporting director even recognized his position as the ‘poorest sporting director in Europe’ to further highlight the lack of resources at his disposal when it came to competing with other top clubs in European football. Unfortunately, even with that lack of resources, much more was expected of him and he failed to deliver due to rivals having much better resources at their disposal.
Vitor Roque’s arrival, however, showcased exactly what was wrong at the club. A decision that was reportedly the combined brainchild of Deco himself, Joan Laporta, and even Xavi Hernandez. However, upon his arrival following a rather significant transfer fee, it became clear to see that Roque’s place was not to be in the first team.
Since then, no one has the courage to take responsibility for that transfer. Deco hides behind the fact that it was a united decision, Joan Laporta possibly claims it to have only been an authorization on his part, and Xavi could say that he was simply doing his job as the team’s coach by including him.
Yet, if there was one clear objective that Deco had to deliver on, it was to make sure that this season’s squad was not weaker than last season’s. Unfortunately, and rather embarrassingly, that seems to have been an objective that was not fully realized yet again due to him being given fake promises that have left him feeling betrayed and has damaged his prestige as well.
With the various signings that did end up arriving, such as Dani Olmo, registration issues were another hurdle on top of that. For a club as prestigious as Barcelona, the abnormal situation of their finances has negatively impacted their prestige as a whole and now makes them an unwanted party for other clubs to want to do dealings with. Despite Laporta’s reported promise that the club would be able to execute transfer operations as per the 1:1 rule, the club’s director was left working without it.
Even players who may have previously dreamed of joining Barcelona now possibly steer clear of the club. From player relationships to financial shortcomings, the case of the Catalan club is now far different to what it used to be at its very best.
Now, with Barcelona reportedly disappointed in the director’s work, talks of him potentially wanting to leave are gaining momentum. It remains to be seen if something manages to come out of this, but it will be solely the director’s decision to make and one that will need careful planning.
