FC Barcelona: 5 reasons why the club has lost its identity

#4 The Neymar Saga (2013)

Neymar with President Sandro

There is no doubt that Neymar was the next big thing when he was snapped up from Santos in 2013. He made the world stand up and take notice. All of the top clubs were interested in his signature. However, unlike Barcelona, no club compromised on their moral compasses in their pursuit for Neymar.

Sandro and Bartomeu did not only sign Neymar for his footballing services alone. They saw a rising global brand in Neymar. Neymar was the face of Nike's advertisement campaigns while Sandro was a former executive of Nike.

Soon enough, the newspapers - marionettes of the sextuple winning club released polls asking if it would be right to sell Messi making Neymar the focal point of the attack. 8% voted yes. Sandro, Nike, Brasil FA and Qatar were all just different pillars controlled the same force in this big scam. Sandro faced several trials for the same and eventually found himself incarcerated on grounds of corruption.

This dragged the club's name into the ground. Hardly what a club of principles would do, let alone a club that believes it is more than just that.