5 big-name players who failed at Barcelona
Barcelona have had some major signings fail over the last few years. Lack of coherent planning combined with incredible financial might has made Barcelona commit major transfer errors for quite some time now.
Some of their best players in the last decade have been their academy graduates, like Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Pedro, Xavi and Sergio Busquets. Despite that, Barcelona continue to buy expensive players, with their latest one being Antoine Griezmann. Without much ado, let us take a look at:
5 big-name players who failed at Barcelona
#5 PHILIPPE COUTINHO
It would be fair to say that Philippe Coutinho's move to Barcelona hasn't worked out; yet.
Coutinho joined Barcelona from Liverpool in January 2018 for a fee of £105 million. The Brazilian was supposed to take over from Andres Iniesta, providing creativity and goals from midfield.
And Coutinho had a good start to his Barcelona career. He was a vital player in the league for the club, due to not being eligible to play in the Champions League that season after playing in the competition with Liverpool.
However, it all fell apart the next season. Ernesto Valverde was unable to figure out how to use Coutinho in his structured midfield. He made 34 appearances in the league that season, but only 22 were starts.
Barcelona shipped the 28-year old out on loan to Bayern Munich last summer. Coutinho performed well there. In 37 appearances in all competitions, he scored nine goals and provided eight assists. However, Bayern refused to sign him on a permanent deal, which means Coutinho has returned to Barcelona.
There is time to turn his fortunes around at the club. But it has been reported that the Camp Nou outfit want to sell him this summer; Leicester City, Manchester United and Arsenal have all been linked with a move.
#4 OUSMANE DEMBELE
Another player who is still on the books of the club, Ousmane Dembele arrived from Borussia Dortmund for a fee of £97 million in 2017. He arrived as the successor to Neymar's throne, who had moved to Paris Saint-Germain that summer.
Dembele got injured in his first start for the club; he has missed 86 games since 2017 for the club due to injuries; he is currently injured. That is the summary of Dembele's Barcelona career.
The France international is talented, as he has shown multiple times in his short career. However, constant injuries and perceived casualness off-the-field has not helped his reputation. He enjoyed incredible solo seasons for both Rennes and Borussia Dortmund. However, he is yet to enjoy even half a successful individual season for the Catalans.
The 23-year old has played a total on nine games this season. Out of those nine games, five have been starts. He has scored one goal.
Akin to Coutinho, there is still time for Dembele to turn it all around. But Barcelona are said to be looking for buyers. Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal are all said to be interested.
#3 ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC
Much was made of this deal when it happened. One of the best strikers in world football decided to join one of the biggest clubs in football in a complex deal.
Ibrahimovic joined Pep Guardiola's Barcelona from Inter Milan for a fee of £59 million, and with Samuel Eto'o going the other way, in 2009. Ibrahimovic had enjoyed a phenomenal spell in Italy, and he seemed tailor-made for a club of Barcelona's stature.
His goalscoring record for the club is very good. However, it is his relationship with Guardiola that quickly became a problem.
There are various rumours about the fractious relationship between the two, but the Swedish striker has confirmed that he often had verbal disputes with the Spaniard. Ibrahimovic has also stated that Lionel Messi wanting to play through the middle meant that he was the one sacrificed.
He spent one season at Barcelona. During that time he played 45 games, scoring 21 goals. He then moved on loan to AC Milan the next season, before joining them on a permanent deal.
Also Read: Top 10 Barcelona goalscorers of all time
#2 ARDA TURAN
Arda Turan joined Barcelona from Atletico Madrid for £24 million in 2015. He was signed during Barcelona's transfer ban, which meant he had to wait half a season to make his debut for the club.
A creative midfielder who was vital to the Atletico Madrid side which won the league in 2014, Turan was supposed to shine at Barcelona. However, that wasn't necessarily the case.
The Turkey international failed to reach his Atletico Madrid heights with the Camp Nou outfit and was utilized as a squad player more often than not. He had some good moments with the club, including scoring his first hat-trick in European competitions, which he did against Borussia Monchengladbach. Despite that, he struggled to fit into the club.
In all, he made 55 appearances for the Blaugrana in all competitions, scoring 15 goals. He was sent out on loan to Istanbul Basaksehir for two years, where his off-the-field controversies made more headlines than his performances on the field. His loan was cut short by six months by the Turkish club. The 33-year old is now a free agent.
#1 ALEXANDER HLEB
In a 2009 interview, Alexander Hleb admitted that he regretted leaving Arsenal for Barcelona.
Hleb joined the Catalans from the Gunners in 2008 for a fee of £13 million. Adored by the fans of the London club, his move to Barcelona was meant to be a gateway for better things.
However, the Belarussian struggled with the Camp Nou outfit. The forward started irregularly for the club and failed to score a single goal during his sole season in Spain. Well known for his technical skills and work ethic, the former Stuttgart player failed to replicate his Arsenal form with Barcelona.
He made 36 appearances in all competitions for the club during the 2008-09 season. He was shifted out on loan three times by the club, moving to Stuttgart, Birmingham City and Wolfsburg. Ultimately, Hleb's contract with Barcelona was cancelled by mutual termination in January 2012. He then would go on to play for Krylia Sovetov Samara in Russia for the remainder of the season.
Also Read: 5 replacements for Luis Suarez at Barcelona