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Barcelona's current crisis is a product of the terrible mistakes they've made over the last four to five years, according to former PSG manager Laurent Blanc. The 55-year-old also believes the Catalan giants are suffering after losing key players.
He explained:
"For French football, it's incredible to have [Lionel] Messi, Neymar and [Kylian] Mbappe in the same league. PSG are on another planet, yes, but it is good for Ligue 1 to see these players week after week. If I look at it from Barcelona's perspective, I believe that they have committed monumental errors. Monumental."
"Not only in relation to Messi, but looking at the last four or five years. They have lost incredible players, which a club like Barcelona cannot allow. You can't lose Neymar or Messi, because it is very difficult to replace them."
Laurent Blanc was one of the candidates who were considered for the coaching job at Barcelona following the departure of Luis Enrique in 2017.
The Frenchman has revealed just how close he was to becoming the club's manager that year. He said:
"I spoke two or three times with Eric Abidal. Obviously, it was a dream to coach a club like Barcelona, but it didn't happen for various reasons. It wasn't the right time or someone believed that I wasn't ready for it. That's life."
Barcelona in a rough patch at the moment
There has been an unpleasant atmosphere at Barcelona as the club hit a rough patch shortly after entering the current season. The Catalan giants kickstarted the campaign with an emphatic 4-2 victory over Real Sociedad in their La Liga opener. They followed it up with one draw and one defeat in their next two games.
Barcelona have won just one of their last six games across all competitions, recording two draws and three losses. They suffered back-to-back defeats to Bayern Munich and Benfica in the UEFA Champions League.
Ronald Koeman has fallen under intense pressure as a result of his side's poor run of results. All eyes will be on the Dutchman to turn the situation around after the international break.
