Barcelona are have failed in their quest for the Champions League for four seasons on the trot now and want the perfect formula to succeed.
Barcelona have a lot of work to be done over the course of the next few months. The Catalans’ primary objective is to sign replacements for nearly the entire starting squad. At the back, Gerard Pique is ageing while there is an alarming need for the arrival of a right back. Junior Firpo hasn’t performed well, meaning that a left back may be signed as well.
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Among the midfielders, Sergio Busquets’ position has not been strengthened in a long while. The defensive midfielder has been an endless servant, but over the last few years he has shown that he is no more an indispensable part of the squad. That said, it is high time that a defensive midfielder is signed.
Josep Maria Bartomeu’s biggest challenge is going to come whilst replenishing the forward line. Luis Suarez has already asked the club publicly to look for a replacement while it is inevitable that Barca will need to sign a successor to Lionel Messi soon enough. La Masia has not been as productive as before in recent times, so big investments will be needed.
However, the fans’ biggest concern is about the man in the dugout- Ernesto Valverde. In his first season at the helm, the former Athletic Bilbao manager won over the fans, but in his second and third seasons there have been loudening calls for his exit and it’s difficult to see the manager keeping his duties beyond this season.
Furthermore, there is also a presidential election coming up for the club next year and that’s where there may be a massive twist in the tail, Diario GOL has reported. Barcelona’s former president Joan Laporta, who oversaw the club’s most illustrious years of the 21st century is planning on contending the elections and will look to make a major statement.
Laporta is aware that the biggest need for the Camp Nou based outfit is a change in managerial personnel and so, he will look to sign Pep Guardiola for a second tenure. The Manchester City boss is contemplating resignation from the Premier League after his side has not been able to match his standard this season and has fallen miles behind Liverpool.
Pep Guardiola’s father insisted that his son remains open on returning to the Camp Nou while the manager himself has called his first tenure an “eternity”. For that reason, Laporta is hoping that if Ronald Koeman arrives this summer, it is on a year’s contract only with a possibility to extend so that he can then do his thing.
Do you see Pep Guardiola returning to the Camp Nou for a second tenure?