5 times Barcelona overpaid for a player
The current financial predicament of Barcelona can find its roots in the impulsive decisions taken under the imprudent management of former president Josep Bartomeu. The erratic politician is largely responsible for driving the biggest club in world football into a complete monetary abyss.
However, considering the wealth they have acquired over the course of history, Barcelona have been known to make bizarre transferral choices from time to time, irrespective of their management.
Barcelona's worst signings in the pre-Bartomeu era
Prior to Neymar's record-breaking sale in 2017, which absolutely derailed their transfer dynamic, Barcelona already had a brief history of spending big bucks on eventual failures. The Blaugrana's €25 million acquisition of Dmytro Chyhrynskyi in 2009 was so dreadful that the Ukrainian was sent back to Shakhtar Donetsk just 11 months later.
Griezmann will go down as one of Barcelona's worst transfers 🧐👎 https://t.co/jUwZNcgjHz
While Marc Overmars was viewed as a gifted winger during his time at Arsenal and Ajax, the Dutchman's career took a massive nosedive following his €29.3 million switch to Barcelona. They once again overpaid for the services of the supposed Brazilian prodigy Keirrison in 2009, paying €14 million for someone who would go on to make zero appearances.
With such a detailed history of misinterpreting the transfer market, it comes as no surprise that Barcelona are currently struggling for funds. Their reckless spending has finally taken a toll on the club, with the Catalan giants barely plugging away just to pay wages to the employed players.
Taking their habit of exorbitant spending into consideration, let's have a look at five times when Barcelona grossly overpaid for a single player:
#5 Miralem Pjanic - €60 million
Miralem Pjanic's €60 million switch to Barcelona has proven to be an absolute disaster, with his signing inflicting more than just monetary damage on the club. Pjanic's transfer was only facilitated by the sale of promising youngster Arthur Melo to Juventus, making the deal a double whammy for Barcelona.
The Bosnia and Herzegovina international suffered a nightmarish debut campaign at Camp Nou, contributing zero goals in 30 appearances for the Blaugrana last term. Having failed to gain Ronald Koeman's trust throughout the 2020-21 season, Pjanic could only manage a paltry 1,295 on-field minutes in his maiden campaign with Barcelona.
Miralem Pjanic statement after Ronald Koeman been sacked by Barcelona. 📑⤵️ #FCB #Pjanic
“I respect everyone and I’ll continue. I wish Ronald Koeman the best of luck in his journey”. https://t.co/k4LEHtzIDp
While the initial deal was labeled a disaster from the get-go, Pjanic was expected to bring some much-needed creativity to Camp Nou, at the very least. However, without a defined role in the first team, the 31-year-old midfielder failed to make an impact and was spat out on a season-long loan to Besiktas this summer.
With Koeman no longer at Barcelona's helm, Pjanic will be hoping to redeem his tarnished reputation next year.
#4 Zlatan Ibrahimovic - €45 million + Samuel Eto'o
The first non-Bartomeu signing on the list, Zlatan Ibrahimovic's move to Barcelona in 2009 created a lot of buzz in the footballing world due to the deal's nature. In their desperation to acquire the Swedish talisman from Inter, the Blaugrana inexplicably agreed to send a proven Samuel Eto'o the other way.
Eto'o had already established his place in the club's history due to his invaluable contribution at the time of the transfer. Regardless, there was no hesitation exuded by Pep Guardiola, who agreed to part ways with the Cameroonian legend and an extra €45 million in favor of Ibrahimovic. Predictably, Inter and Eto'o came out as clear victors of the deal, making a mockery of Barcelona's poor negotiating skills.
On This Day in 2009 🗓️
Zlatan and Eto'o swapped places
The deal saw Inter get Eto'o plus €46 million for Ibrahimovic. Inter Milan went on to win a Serie A, Champions League and Coppa Italia treble. https://t.co/fRB5OtFECH
Ibrahimovic would only last one season at Camp Nou after a feud with Guardiola resulted in his exile on loan to AC Milan. He was eventually sold to the Rossoneri in 2012 for a significantly low amount of €24 million. Eto'o, on the other hand, became the only player to win two successive continental trebles, achieving the feat with Inter in his debut campaign.
Also read: Ranking the 5 greatest bargain signings in Barcelona history