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Barcelona’s Vidal experiment may turn out to be a failure

By Chiranjib Ghosh

BARCELONA, SPAIN - SEPTEMBER 29: Arturo Vidal of Barcelona reacts during the La Liga match between FC Barcelona and Athletic Club at Camp Nou on September 29, 2018 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)
BARCELONA, SPAIN - SEPTEMBER 29: Arturo Vidal of Barcelona reacts during the La Liga match between FC Barcelona and Athletic Club at Camp Nou on September 29, 2018 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Quality Sport Images/Getty Images) /
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Arturo Vidal has been vocal about his frustration in recent times

The decision to sign Paulinho was initially ridiculed because he was a player whose name had been smeared after a terrible time at Tottenham. The 29-year old Brazilian box-to-box midfielder was plying his trade in China, and was brought to the club to add physicality to the midfield.

Paulinho did make 43 appearances in all competitions, but many of those were off the bench, as a substitute in the final minutes of the game. But he never voiced any concerns over his lack of starts because he never expected to be given that much playing time at a club like Barcelona.

But unfortunately, that is not the case for Paulinho’s replacement, former Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal. The 31-year old Chilean box-to-box midfielder was brought in from Bayern Munich on a €18 million deal to replace Paulinho in the squad.

Vidal has made just 8 appearances all season, with just 2 of them being starts. For a high-profile player like him, it is very frustrating to be sitting on the bench after having won 2 Copa América titles, 8 league titles in Europe and 2 cup competitions.

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The Chilean superstar has gone on a rant in social media with posts which clearly show his anger at being left on the bench against the likes of Tottenham and being taken off against Girona despite providing an assist in the first-half.

"Vidal said, “How am I going to be happy if I don’t play, and me of all people. I am someone that has always fought, that has been in the best teams in the world, that has won everything and who wants to continue winning at Barcelona.I am fine physically and happy. In the past few games I have been a little irritated but that’s how it is, we will keep battling, there are a lot of important games ahead and we will see.”"

The signing of Arturo Vidal was always an experiment, which carried more risk than reward. He is 31, and is not getting any younger. Due to his superstar status, he takes up a significant chunk of the wage bill, and he can almost be termed a liability for the club at this point.

Undoubtedly, Vidal is still among the best midfielders in Europe. But considering that he is a player who will not contribute to the future of the club, Ernesto Valverde cannot afford to field him over the likes of Arthur, who are significantly younger.

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But the team could still use Vidal. Ernesto Valverde should consider starting him more frequently in the Champions League and on a regular basis in the upcoming Copa del Rey. But this should not be aimed at appeasing him, but to improve the side.