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Philippe Coutinho
Barcelona have thrown away a fortune and then some in making these signings that did not work out at all.
Barcelona have endured a difficult few years and particularly so from a financial point of view. The Catalans have been horribly managed on all fronts. They were able to gain a fortune through the sale of Neymar Jr. to Paris Saint-Germain.
But instead of investing that money wisely, Barcelona made one hasty decision after another in the transfer window and wound up with more problems than they started out with. The club is in severe financial distress right now and is mostly linked with to-be free-agents these days.
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Josep Maria Bartomeu and his board of directors tendered their resignation after the public outcry and resentment against them reached alarming levels. Without further ado, let's take a look at the top big-money transfer flops at Barcelona.
Top 5 big-money flops at Barcelona
#5 Arda Turan
Despite being La Liga title-rivals, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona have done a considerable amount of transfer business together. It's mostly been one-sided with Barcelona luring some of the finest of the Rojiblancos' talents away and Arda Turan was one of those players who was sold on the Catalonian dream.
Barcelona signed the Turkish international for €34 million in 2015 but Atletico Madrid were serving a transfer ban at the time. As a result, Turan only featured for Barcelona for the first time in January 2016.
Barcelona proved to be quite a departure from Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid. At the Camp Nou, it was more about guile, poise and flair, whereas Turan was more suited to an all-action midfield that prioritized solidity and industry.
Don't get us wrong though, Turan was a good technician but he was not the right fit for Barcelona. With his speed and close control, he was configured to take advantage of counter-attacking opportunities. He stuck out like a sore thumb at Barcelona where the midfielders should be dominating possession.
Turan made just 55 appearances for the side before being loaned out to Istanbul Besaksehir and subsequently sold to Galatasaray.
#4 Andre Gomes
Xavi and Andres Iniesta were so good at their jobs that Barcelona's desperation to find long-term successors to them could be largely excused. However, they consistently did such an awful job with it and most often found players who weren't even of the same ilk.
A prime example of this would be Andre Gomes. The young midfielder bit off more than he could chew by securing a switch to Barcelona from Valencia at a young age to take over from two of the legends of the game.
Barcelona fans, the entitled bunch they were, jeered and booed Andre Gomes for not performing to the standards expected of him. The youngster even came out and admitted how all the reactions had sent him into a bout of depression.
Gomes spent two nightmare seasons at Barcelona before eventually joining Everton in the summer of 2018 on loan. His signing was made permanent in the subsequent season and he has done a pretty decent job for the Toffees so far.
But it's fair to say that after costing €35 million, Andre Gomes was a big-money flop at Barcelona.
#3 Malcom
Barcelona chiefs squandered a good chunk of the profit from the Neymar sale on players who had to make too big a step up. A good example of their profligacy is their decision to bring in Malcom from Bordeaux for an initial fee of €41 million.
Malcom was in electric form during his stint with Bordeaux but in the unforgiving environment of Barcelona, the young Brazilian struggled to stake a claim for a starting berth. He suffered a miserable debut season at Barcelona and wanted to leave the club owing to a lack of playing time.
Malcom had pulled a U-turn on a move to AS Roma at the very last minute - something that left Monchi fuming after having done everything to put the deal together. The youngster started just six league games for Barcelona under Ernesto Valverde.
It has since been suggested that Ernesto Valverde neither wanted Malcom nor was he informed of the Barcelona board's decision to sign him. Barcelona were able to recoup €40 million by selling Malcom the next summer to Zenit St. Petersburg.
#2 Ousmane Dembele
Ousmane Dembele is still a work in progress or that is what Barcelona and their fans would like to believe. Having spent more time in the infirmary than on the football field, the Frenchman has failed to justify his €105 million (+ €40 million in add-ons) price that the Cules had to pay to sign him from Borussia Dortmund.
We have seen glimpses of Ousmane Dembele's talent sporadically but for that kind of money, intermittent success is not the expected payoff. This is Dembele's fourth season at Barcelona and he is yet to have a thoroughly impressive season.
The 23-year-old has already had several run-ins with the club's management over disciplinary issues. The fact that his bones are made of glass doesn't help either.
Dembele has already come close to exiting the club on multiple occasions and just how much of that initial transfer fee Barcelona will be able to recoup remains to be seen. They ought to be happy to cut their losses and take a little more than a half.
#1 Philippe Coutinho
Philippe Coutinho is not, by any count, a bad player. His signing did not look like a bad decision either at first. Coutinho seemed to be a midfielder cut from the same fabric as some of the best Barcelona midfielders of the modern era.
He was arguably the best attacking midfielder in the Premier League in his last couple of seasons at Liverpool. Liverpool obviously wanted a fortune for their star man and Barcelona were happy to oblige. Barcelona paid Liverpool a sum that reportedly rises to about €145 million.
In a recent poll conducted by Barca Universal, fans from around the world voted Philippe Coutinho the worst big-money signing in recent years.
Coutinho impressed in his initial days before his form fizzled out and he cut a frustrated figure in his first full season at the Camp Nou. The Brazilian was subsequently sent on loan to Bayern Munich where he was quite impressive and won the continental treble with the Bavarians.
Coutinho has returned to Barcelona but he remains a long way away from justifying the price that Barcelona paid to sign him back in January 2018.
