Ranking the 5 greatest bargain signings in Barcelona history
Due to their reckless spending of the past five seasons, Barcelona currently find themselves in financial ruins. The club are knee-deep into debt, despite shaving off a decent amount of wage bill with some big-name departures this summer. Newly-elected Joan Laporta is constantly working on getting Barcelona back on their feet, making some tough decisions to restore their monetary prowess.
Barcelona have made some sensible transfers
Compared to its predecessors, the 2021 transfer window was a stroke of genius for the Blaugrana, shipping off deadwood whilst bringing in quality players for bargain fees. Their free-of-cost acquisitions of Sergio Aguero, Eric Garcia and Memphis Depay have proven to be the saving grace of an otherwise disappointing Barcelona season.
Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez and Neymar scored 364 goals and won seven trophies in three seasons together, including the 2014/15 treble.
In 2015/16, Barcelona wore horizontal stripes for the first time in 115 years and MSN had their most prolific season, scoring 131 goals. https://t.co/VCgNhjNRkF
Under the erratic Josep Bartomeu, the Catalan giants also sanctioned the signings of Arthur Melo, Sergino Dest and Pedri, a long shot towards redeeming his gross misdemeanor. While Arthur was prematurely sold to Juventus to balance the books, Dest and Pedri continue to be the brightest talents in a promising Barcelona squad.
The sheer magnitude of their transferral blunders always tends to overshadow some astute pieces of business concocted by the club. Nevertheless, Barcelona have had their fair share of brilliant transfers without having to spend astronomical amounts of money. On that note, let's take a look at the five best bargain buys conducted by Barcelona:
#5 Jordi Alba - €14 million
Following Lionel Messi's departure, Jordi Alba was included as the last option among the four captains the club appoints every season. A product of the fabled La Masia, Alba has been a loyal servant to his boyhood club for more than nine years now and thoroughly deserves his inclusion on this list.
After receiving his footballing education from Barcelona's academy, Alba was let go by the club, subsequently joining Valencia's youth setup in 2007. The Spaniard continued to thrive with the Bats, honing his dribbling as well as defensive skills at Mestalla. A stunning Euro 2012 campaign caught the attention of his former employers, who wasted no time in bringing him back.
The club hid the fact that Gerard Piqué played the Clásico with discomfort in his calf. As well as Jordi Alba, who had to play with painkillers.
— @fansjavimiguel https://t.co/HvmB7ZawFN
On 12th July 2012, Barcelona officially unveiled Alba as their latest recruit, solidifying their left flank for years to come, in the process. Alba has since racked up 392 appearances for the club, becoming an ever-present for the Blaugrana. Despite his recent slip-ups, Alba is easily one of the best bargain buys in Barcelona's history.
#4 Marc-Andre ter Stegen - €12 million
In an era where promising young goalkeepers are either too pricey or too hard to scout, Barcelona managed to orchestrate a coup when they acquired Marc-Andre ter Stegen. The Blaugrana procured the German shot-stopper in 2014 from Borussia Mönchengladbach for a minimal fee of €12 million.
Ter Stegen received heavy criticism in his initial days at Camp Nou for his error-prone nature. Claudio Bravo was still the first-choice keeper under Luis Enrique and as a result, the Germany international was often left on the bench to act as a backup. Nevertheless, Ter Stegen has come a long way since, improving by leaps and bounds in subsequent years.
Ter Stegen kept 4 clean sheets against Madrid. He is 3 away from the all-time record of most clean sheets in El Clasico history : Victor Valdes 7. https://t.co/9qUNpfIozd
He is now considered to be one of the best shot-stoppers around, famous for his ability to cover near-impossible regions of the goal. At 29, Ter Stegen is still pretty young in goalkeeping terms and is expected to continue at the topmost level for years to come at Barcelona.
Also read: Barcelona vs Real Madrid: Ranking the 5 greatest goalkeepers in El Clasico history