FC Barcelona had another disappointing season after their hopes of a treble were shattered in the final 15 days of the recently concluded season.
Lionel Messi and co. finished the season with just the Primera Liga title, after they were dumped out of the Champions League by Liverpool, and beaten by Valencia in the Copa del Rey final.
The loss against Liverpool particularly hurt the club, as it was déjà vu all over again following what transpired in the 2017-18 season against AS Roma in the quarter-final.
Even though for a club with Barcelona’s stature the aim will always be to lift all the trophies available, the club will once again want to end their wait of lifting the Champions League again next season.
Here’s a look at how Barcelona should plan their transfer strategy to launch an all-out assault on the Champions League next season.
Barcelona’s aim should be to take the pressure off Messi next season
The Blaugrana have been busy in the transfer market and have already secured the signing of Frenkie de Jong from AFC Ajax, the Catalan club are looking to splash more money on two of the biggest names in world football in Antoine Griezmann and Neymar Jr.
An attacking line of Luis Suarez, Ousmane Dembele, Messi, Neymar and Griezmann would send shivers down the spine of the opposition, but might just give a headache to Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde. He will have to find a way to keep all these big names satisfied with playing time at Camp Nou.
The Messi dependency has been a real thing ever since Neymar left for Paris Saint-Germain back in the summer of 2017. With Suarez misfiring in the European competition, Barcelona have been referred to as a one-man team by the fans on numerous occasions in the last couple of years.
Seeing the kind of players being targeted, the club remain keen on overcoming the overreliance on Messi to get the maximum out of the little magician, who is entering the twilight of his career.
Andre Gomes has been offloaded for a meagre €25 million, and a swap deal for the backup ‘keeper Jasper Cillessen with Valencia’s Neto has also been completed.
If the Blaugrana can succeed in their pursuit of rumoured targets this summer, the chances of a third treble in the club’s history will improve before the new season kicks-off in August.
