'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
In recent years, Barcelona have been on the buying end of some questionable transfers. Under the infamous Josep Bartomeu-regime, the Blaugrana developed a habit of splashing unnecessary cash on undeserving players. As a result, Barcelona have absolutely tarnished their reputation in the transfer market.
Barcelona's current transfer predicament
Following Neymar's record-breaking move to PSG, the Catalan giants entered a state of frenzy and haven't been able to recover ever since. Despite convincing Lionel Messi to take a 50% wage cut, Barcelona failed to incorporate his expenses in their already bloated wage fabric. Refusing to jeopardize their financial future for one player, even if it was their all-time top scorer, current president Joan Laporta had to reluctantly let the Argentine go.
Trending
Due to losses incurring up to €500m last season, coupled with a salary cap imposition by La Liga, Barcelona still need to restructure their expenditure by colossal margins. A generous wage cut taken by club vice-captain Gerard Pique enabled the Blaugrana to register their latest transfers in time. Nevertheless, the magnitude of their economic plight is too massive to be solved solely by such measures.
As opposed to current times, Barcelona were once the dream destination for all aspiring footballers. Playing at the Camp Nou was considered to be the peak achievement of one's career just a few years ago. Subsequently, even a slight interest from Barcelona used to stir up discussions for a potential transfer between the concerned player and their clubs.
With that era in mind, let's take a look at five players who successfully staged protests against their teams to force a transfer to Barcelona:
#5 Antoine Griezmann
Barcelona's interest in Antoine Griezmann was widely known as they had chased the French forward's signature for a considerable amount of time. Los Rojiblancos were handed a morale boost in 2018 when their star man announced that he won't be leaving the Wanda Metropolitano any time soon.
However, this all changed when Barcelona came calling once again in 2019. Unlike previous years, Griezmann took his sweet time to address the speculations that had been surrounding him. Despite signing a five-year deal and dramatically releasing a documentary called La Decision to pledge his future with the Madrid club, Griezmann was wearing Blaugrana colors just 13 months later.
The World Cup winner effectively went on strike, refusing to show up at training sessions in order to force a move through. Subsequently, a helpless Diego Simeone was compelled to sell his talisman to Barcelona for a sizeable transfer fee of €120m. In the two years since then, Griezmann has produced 35 goals and 17 assists in 101 appearances for the La Liga giants.
#4 Javier Mascherano
Javier Mascherano joined Liverpool on loan in the winter of 2007, just five months after landing in the Premier League with West Ham. For the next year-and-a-half, Mascherano won over the Liverpool faithful with his splendid performances. The Reds resultantly made his transfer permanent in July 2008.
The reliable Argentine proved to be a rock at the base of the midfield at Anfield, racking up a total of 139 appearances for Liverpool. However, by 2010, Barcelona had started displaying interest in the defensive midfielder. To force a transfer to his desired club, Mascherano started to show signs of discontent. The versatile veteran even went as far as refusing to play against Manchester City in a league game.
In a recent interview with FourFourTwo, Mascherano opened up about the methods he employed to initiate a move to Camp Nou. The former Barcelona stalwart said:
"There was an agreement between us that if Liverpool received a decent offer for me, I’d be permitted to leave. Then there was an offer on the table, but Liverpool were looking the other way. Refusing to play at City was the way I found to show my annoyance.”
Mascherano eventually got his wish, securing a €20m transfer to Barcelona in the summer of 2010. After eight years of loyal service to the Catalans, the certified legend departed the club with dignity and a stacked trophy cabinet.
Also read: 5 world-class footballers Barcelona failed to sign
#3 Philippe Coutinho
Costing a gargantuan €135m in principal fee, Philippe Coutinho became the most expensive transfer in Barcelona's history in 2018. The Brazilian playmaker proved to be a wanted man in Catalonia due to his eye-catching displays at Anfield. Donning the elusive number 10 on his back for the Reds, Coutinho's gleaming dribbling skills, coupled with his superior creativity, made him the perfect player for Barcelona to poach.
Aware of their interest, the 63-capped Brazil international submitted an official transfer request to the club. Liverpool's owners, the Fenway Sports Group, had fended off previous bids from potential suitors. They made their desire to withhold Coutinho even more apparent by rejecting his transfer plea. Jurgen Klopp backed the decision as he publicly stated his intentions to keep hold of the innovative creator.
Coutinho went on to make 14 more league appearances for the Reds before staging a second revolt in the winter transfer window of the 2017-18 season. He ruled himself out in January 2018, citing sudden fitness issues. A few days later, Coutinho's wish to depart for Barcelona was finally granted by the Liverpool hierarchy, as they accepted a €135m bid from the Blaugrana.
#2 Ousmane Dembele
The transfer that kicked off a series of ill-advised financial decisions, Barcelona's acquisition of Ousmane Dembele, was completed shortly after the sale of Neymar in 2017. The Catalan giants reinvested €105m of the €222m they had received in order to sign the promising but unproven prodigy of Borussia Dortmund.
Having signed Dembele as a 19-year-old, Dortmund made an instant profit of €100m by selling him to Barcelona after a solitary season. In his only year as a BVB player, Dembele produced an impressive 32 goal involvements in just 50 games, turning heads of every top club in Europe.
Following Neymar's controversial move to PSG, Barcelona spent no time diving into the transfer market looking for a replacement. Sensing the opportunity of a lifetime, Dembele refused to attend training in an attempt to force a move through. He later admitted to having no regrets in employing such a methodology to fulfill his desire, stating,
"I knew I had to have patience. I decided to stop going training. I didn't want to go. I looked for an excuse not to go. If it didn't work out and I hadn't done my part to get the move to Barca, now I would be lamenting the fact I wasn't here."
Four years since the inflated transfer, Dembele has failed to settle into the Catalans' first-team. He is currently out until October with a hamstring injury, the 12th of his Barcelona career.
#1 Cesc Fabregas
A Barcelona player in all the technical aspects of the game, Cesc Fabregas received his footballing education from the fabled institution of La Masia. Before he could make a name for himself in the senior squad, Arsenal recognized his potential at the age of 16 and quickly snapped him up. The Spaniard went on to have a fruitful career with the Gunners, breaking numerous records en route to becoming Arsenal's second-youngest captain ever.
However, rumors connecting him with a potential return to Camp Nou were ever-present during his eight-year association with the London club. Fabregas to Barcelona remains one of the longest-drawn transfer sagas in recent history, spanning multiple transfer windows.
Following Spain's victory in the 2010 World Cup, the Catalan members of the squad went as far as forcing a Barcelona shirt onto the creative playmaker.
The story picked up considerable heat in 2011 when Fabregas refused to participate in Arsenal's pre-season tour of that season. Having skipped the first match of the 2011-12 campaign, it was announced that the Gunners had accepted a €34m bid for the transfer of their captain to Barcelona. Thus concluded one of the most prolonged transfer sagas of our generation, with Fabregas forcing a move to his boyhood club.
Also read: Ranking the 10 worst Barcelona transfers in the last decade
