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The 2018/19 season came to an end with Liverpool winning the Champions League title at the Wanda Metropolitano. The Catalan giants have had a mixed campaign. Though they convincingly won the LaLiga title, they were eliminated by Liverpool in the Champions League semifinals and also lost the Copa del Rey final to Valencia.
Ernesto Valverde has a lot of issues to address before the 2019/20 season begins. Though Lionel Messi was phenomenal last season, the same cannot be said about some of their other key players. Philippe Coutinho had a poor outing and Ousmane Dembele too was below-par, with frequent injuries.
Poor and inconsistent performances have resulted in a drop in the market value of some of Barcelona’s top players.
Stats courtesy transfermarkt (market value since June 1, 2018).
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On that note, let’s take a look at 5 Barcelona players whose value has dropped significantly.
#1 Sergio Busquets
Arguably Barcelona’s most important player after Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets had a good season for Barcelona. The Spanish International featured in 35 LaLiga and 12 Champions League games for the Catalan giants this season. He was below par for Spain in the 2018 Word Cup in Russia.
A defensive minded player who more often acts as a pivot in Barcelona’s midfield, Busquets is key to their ‘tiki-taka’ style of football. He averaged 2.6 tackles per game in LaLiga and 3.4 tackles per game in UCL.
However, despite his consistency and good performances, Busquets’ market worth has dropped in the past 12 months. Since June 1, 2018, the Spaniard’s value has dropped from €80 million to €50 million, a 37.5% decline, mostly because of the natural depreciation that comes with age. Busquets will turn 31 next month and only have a few years of top-flight football left in him.
#2 Luis Suarez
Suarez is another Barcelona player who is showing signs of decline with age. Though he scored 21 goals in LaLiga this season, he scored only once in 10 Champions League appearances. His goals per minutes ratio has also declined over the past 12 months, and he has struggled for consistency in front of goal.
Suarez flopped in big games and was singled out for his poor performance in the UCL semifinals second-leg at Anfield. His market value has dropped from €70 million to €50 million, which represents a 28.6% decline.
#3 Arturo Vidal
In one of the surprise moves of last summer, Barcelona signed Arturo Vidal to bolster their midfield after the departure of Paulinho and Andres Iniesta. The Chilean, however, had a mediocre season for the Blaugrana. In 33 LaLiga appearances last season, Vidal scored only thrice and created only seven more.
He could not make the impact that was expected of him and was disappointing on many occasions. As a result, his market value has dropped from €35 million to €15 million, a 57.1% decline.
#4 Samuel Umtiti
The French international had a miserable 2018/19 campaign. After two good seasons with Barcelona and the World Cup win with France, Umtiti was on top of the world at the beginning of the 2018/19 season. However, injuries ravaged his campaign and he never really recovered his best form.
He lost his starting place to Clement Lenglet and made only 14 LaLiga appearances. As a result of his poor form, Umtiti’s stock has dropped significantly. He is now valued at €45 million, which represents a 25% drop from his value in June 2018.
#5 Gerard Pique
An ever-present figure in the Barcelona back-line last season, Gerard Pique enjoyed one of his best seasons ever at the Camp Nou. His statistics for the 2018/19 season were remarkable and he was consistent throughout. He was dribbled past only 0.4 times per game and had an average of over four clearances per game in LaLiga.
Despite his good performances, the Spaniard’s market value has declined because of age. He is 32 and may not remain at the top for long. His market value has dropped from €50 million to €35 million.
