FC Barcelona Enjoyed Success And Experienced Failure In The Transfer Market

The winter transfer market in 2022 was a mixed bag for FC Barcelona.

Though Xavi Hernandez didn’t get his first choice striker in Alvaro Morata, due to the overvaluation of the Spain international by owner club and La Liga rivals Atletico Madrid, the Catalans still have reinforcements up front.

Signed in the middle of the night, Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will ply his trade on loan at Camp Nou until June 2023 and is arguably more clinical than Morata while boasting faster pace and better off the ball movement.

On the right wing, there is a nice story told in Adama Traore coming home to the club where he graduated from the La Masia academy, after growing up a 15-minute walk away in the densely-populated suburb of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat.

Before either of these coups, let not forget how Barca, despite being stuck in over $1.5bn’s worth of debt, somehow managed to pay Manchester City $62mn for Ferran Torres and also welcomed back club legend Dani Alves on a free.

Yet it is not all peachy, and Barca dropped the ball by not being able to offload Ousmane Dembele. Tired of the hardball his agent was playing with outrageous salary demands to pen a new deal, director of football Mateu Alemany labored to get rid of the Frenchman yet approaches from PSG and Tottenham Hotspur broke down on deadline day.

Now it is certain that come June 30, Barca will lose the man they paid $152mn for in 2017 on a free, and there is even talk that he could have his contract terminated post haste rather than be made to watch from the stands.

Dembele’s approach was the opposite of club record signing Philippe Coutinho’s, and once more the Brazilian deserves credit for seeking pastures new to help out the team with his temporary exit to Aston Villa reducing the wage bill and allowing new signings to be registered.

As the Blaugrana now look to try and seal qualification for the Champions League with their new acquisitions, it is all stations go as per launching a summer assault on Borussia Dortmund superstar Erling Haaland, who could cost a relatively small $85mn thanks to a special release clause in his contract.