Though Barcelona are the favorites to win La Liga and Copa del Rey this term, this season does not measure up to the standard of the Catalans’ previous seasons. Apart from the three attackers, hardly has any other player found the net and the La Liga giants have come to realize it is time for an overhaul.
And it seems the change would be starting from the very top, as the club has notified the public that manager Luis Enrique will be leaving season end. The Spaniard made some wrong transfer decision last summer, which many thinks is the genesis of their woes this season.
Although the club has not revealed the identity of the next manager, the club already has a list of players they want to sign in the summer and for this to happen, some players would have to say their goodbyes at the end of the season.
Here are three players Barcelona could sell to allow for new intake this summer:
Rafinha: A Barcelona academy product, Rafinha has fallen from grace this season. When Andres Iniesta was sidelined for a month and half at the beginning of the season due to injury, the Brazilian was handed the chance to be a regular starter under Enrique, but he failed to grasp the opportunity with both hands.
The 24-year-old midfielder has only six goals and two assists in 18 appearances to his name and has been declared unfit to play for the rest of the season due to a meniscus injury. Barcelona’s midfield is played by the likes of Ivan Rakitic, Andres Iniesta, Andre Gomes and Sergio Busquets and with these three; it was obvious Rafinha would be dropped. He is unlikely to get any shot at the first team next season. It is just a matter of time before he leaves the club and he has been linked with a move to England.
Sergi Roberto: Another Barcelona academy product, Roberto has received more criticism than any other player in the squad this season as his performance at the back has been nothing short of miserable. Though his failure could be as a result of being deployed to a position he is not effective at, still it signifies he has been much like Rafinha, a redundant player to the team.
Aleix Vidal absence from the pitch and lack of any other viable options for the right-back role has seen him playing consistently for Barca. Roberto can only lay claim to six assists this season, which goes on to show his ineptitude in the attacking third. The 25-year old could be better in another position, but the right-back position is at odds with him.
Arda Turan: He has been a contrast to what Barcelona stands for. His style of play and mentality differs from what La Masia academy tries to inculcate in their players. Though he has been on an injury enforced leave for most of the season, his absence was not felt in the team.
He has 18 league appearances this season, scoring three and assisting three. Most of his appearance came from the left wing, where Neymar operates and it goes without saying he will always play second fiddle to the Brazilian. He will unexpectedly be leaving the club this summer.