Braithwaite was only singed because it was an emergency signing ie it had to be from La Liga I think.Same as most, they're broke, crippled by wages and terrible transfer fees.
They must be bad now though, as I couldn't even name their team, never mind a squad of 15 or 20.
Some transfers have not paid off: Coutinho, Griezmann, Dembele, those four must be knocking on for £400m in transfer fees and £1m a week in wages, and none of them would get in the Man City team.
Then Braithwaite? WTF? He's not a bad player, but nowhere near Barca's level, well actually now he is, but he shouldn't be.
The Pjanic deal was involved in Arthur deal, I don’t fully understand at as both players are quoted as having fees paid but also linked.Their best players are aged too, Messi is 33 and yes still amazing, but asking him to play every game (29 starts) and perform at that level, on his own in a very average team is asking too much for a 33 year old.
Jordi Alba (30 starts) 32 in a few weeks
Busquets 32 year old (26 starts)
Griezemen 30 in 3 weeks (3 starts)
Pique 34 year old (13 starts)
Pjanic 30 (13 starts) a mad signing for 54Mill at 29 year old, what were they thinking!
The only younger outfield player that comes close most of these players in appearances is De Jong. They've allowed the core of their team to age, without bringing in players that could challenge them. They have a load of 21-24 year olds who've never held down a first team jersey, that have fallen behind where they should be at this stage of their careers, and are lacking in the quality of the players they were meant to replace. It's an absolute FUBAR of a situation and if Messi leaves in the summer, which he certainly will, then they could collapse without that talisman. The shadow of replacing him will weigh down on anyone taking his place.