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La Liga giants FC Barcelona have already fallen out of Europe's elite and are in a financial breakdown over the past few seasons. The Catalans managed to win just a single trophy last term and were nowhere near the La Liga title the previous season as well.
Barcelona have several concerns ahead of their La Liga campaign
With a new board in place, the future is uncertain for the Barcelona faithful. Their problems just do not end with a lack of silverware and the recent departure of Lionel Messi.
The Catalans have a barrage of on-field and off-field problems to address. Without further ado, let's dive right into the possible concerns for Barcelona ahead of the new season.
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#5 Uncertainty over Ter Stegen hitting peak form
Barcelona's no.1 shot-stopper Marc-Andre ter Stegen has been facing problems dealing with his knee for a couple of seasons now. The German goalkeeper went into a preventive surgery after the 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League 2019-20 semi-final. However, the surgery was never enough as Ter Stegen's uneasiness resurfaced at the end of the 2020-21 season as well.
The former Borussia Monchengladbach goalkeeper has now undergone additional knee surgery and will take at least two months to regain full match fitness. The unavailability of Ter Stegen puts Barcelona into a spot of bother.
The German was not up to the mark in the previous season with just 11 clean sheets in La Liga in 2020-21. Notably, Ter Stegen had 16 and 14 clean sheets to his name in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 La Liga seasons respectively.
There is a possibility that his knee problem will result in a long-term downfall in Ter Stegen's overall form in goal.
Barcelona will now be hopeful that Neto steps up between the sticks in La Liga along with Inaki Pena. Ter Stegen's return to form and regular match fitness is paramount for Barcelona. Especially since there have been reports of Pena looking for a new club through super agent Jorge Mendes.
If the third-choice custodian does leave, Barcelona will be thin in terms of resources between the sticks and will hope Ter Stegen can reclaim his best form.
#4 Inexperienced centre backs
Gerard Pique's regular injury concerns, along with the complete lack of form of Samuel Umtiti, have not helped Barcelona's cause for being a defensively resilient side. The Catalans conceded the highest number of goals (38) among the top five teams in La Liga in the previous season.
The club have brought in the likes of Eric Garcia, promoted Ronald Araujo and Oscar Mingueza in hopes of combating the issues surrounding the central defense.
The trio have been pegged to solve the defensive crisis at Barcelona but they also lack experience in terms of playing in La Liga. They have an average age of 21.33 and none of them have been used as first-choice centre-backs at any top division club so far, including in La Liga.
The new centre-backs have a lot of potential but crunch games in the Champions League and La Liga matches against Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid will prove demanding.
It remains to be seen if the young central defenders at Barcelona are ready for the challenge that awaits them in the upcoming La Liga season.
#3 Injury to Sergio Aguero
Sergio Aguero must wait to make his Barcelona debut in La Liga. The Argentine has been ruled out for 10 weeks due to a calf injury.
Ronald Koeman only has the options of Antoine Griezmann, Memphis Depay and Martin Braithwaite upfront now. While Depay has shown great promise since arriving, the same cannot be said for Griezmann and Braithwaite.
With Barcelona struggling to offload Griezmann and Braithwaite, the duo might end up staying at Camp Nou. The La Liga giants will be hoping they can contribute to the team's success, but the lack of an out-and-out striker like Aguero could hurt the side early on.
Aguero has netted 184 goals in 275 Premier League games for Manchester City and was the perfect talisman for Barcelona to look forward to after Messi's departure. Unfortunately for the La Liga giants, Aguero will have to wait before he can try and make a difference.
#2 Brand value and finances taking further hit
It is no secret that Barcelona are in troubled waters as far as the finances are concerned. La Liga has not allowed the club to make new signings unless Barcelona manage to balance the books.
The Catalans had a wage bill higher than the likes of Manchester City and Manchester United under former president Josep Maria Bartomeu. The new management has nearly halved the wage bill from €671m to €347m, with their €324m reduction being by far the largest in La Liga.
However, the reductions are still not enough since Barcelona's current wage bill is well over the stipulated La Liga salary caps, which eventually resulted in the departure of Lionel Messi.
The Argentine's transfer to Paris Saint-Germain will have massive repercussions as far as Barcelona's finances are concerned. From shirt sales to broadcast revenue, everything is expected to suffer in the wake of the move.
The club could also suffer a massive downfall in their brand name, stadium attendance in La Liga and a dip in possible sponsorships as well.
Furthermore, shirt sponsors and partners will eventually drift away from the club as they will no longer be sported by the little magician on his sleeve.
Hence Barcelona, as a brand, could lose a fortune in the long term and that might aggravate the club's already dismal financial conditions.
#1 The void left behind by Lionel Messi
Barcelona have been synonymous with Lionel Messi ever since he emerged from La Masia. The kid from Rosario has been the face of the club on and off the pitch.
The talisman stepped up consistently for Barcelona to score crucial goals and turn several games on its head in La Liga. Be it free-kicks, solo goals or out-of-the-blue assists, the six-time Ballon d'Or winner had everything to offer whenever his club needed him to.
The departure of Lionel Messi puts a direct strain on Barcelona's overall strengths. When the going gets tough in La Liga, Messi will no longer be there to pop up with his individual brilliance and save Barcelona.
Messi provided arguably the world's strongest alternative to scoring goals and creating opportunities which will be a big miss for the club.
Losing Messi has catapulted an emotional response from the players and the fans, a void the club will never be able to fill in decades.
The automatic reason for Barcelona's potential failure to win the title, especially in La Liga, could now be attributed to the absence of Messi.
Everyone at the club needs to take responsibility and make peace with life after Messi at Barcelona or there could be problems for the La Liga heavyweights.
