Barcelona s financial difficulties reappear, Williams transfer breaks down and sounds the alarm bell

Let’s analyze Barcelona’s transfer operations this summer. It can be said that they are full of twists and turns, but it also reflects a change in their thinking led by the new management and new coaches. First of all, the highly anticipated Nico Williams deal ended in failure, which exposed many deep problems. We look at the key point of the breakdown of the negotiations, which is that the player's team requires a clause in the contract that "if the season cannot be successfully registered before the start of the season, the player can leave the team freely." This requirement is actually to put the risk of current financial uncertainty of Barcelona clubs directly on the table. The player and his agent need a 100% guarantee. Barcelona sports director Deco ultimately rejected this clause, which shows that the club is unwilling, or in other words, it is unable to bear such risks and commitments at the contract level. This failure sounded a wake-up call for Barcelona, ​​that their poor financial situation in the past few years has begun to substantially affect their credibility and operational space in negotiations with top players.

After missing Nico Williams, Barcelona's eyes were completely focused on Liverpool's winger Louis Diaz. In many ways, Diaz may be a more suitable choice for Barcelona. He is 28 years old and has more experience, and his style of play is very direct, energetic, and good at rapid offensive and defensive conversions, which can be said to be seamlessly connected with the tactical philosophy of new coach Hans Flick. But it is also quite difficult to introduce Diaz. His contract with Liverpool has no termination clause, which means that any negotiation will be complex and expensive, and the initiative is completely in the hands of Liverpool. Barcelona can only stay patient and wait for the right opportunity.

In this case, the emergence of the name Manchester United's Marcus Rashford reflects Barcelona's multi-layered layout in transfer strategy. Rashford can be seen as an "opportunity" goal. Barcelona is very clear that the player himself has a strong desire to join, and his situation at Manchester United is not going well, which may create conditions for a very cost-effective transaction (such as renting first and then buying). This is a very smart strategy for Barcelona. While they focus on their number one goal, they are quietly tracking a potential high-reward opportunity, waiting for an opportunity that is beneficial to them in the later stage of the transfer window.

Of course, in addition to introducing players, the "metabolism" of the existing lineup is also a work that a club must do in the summer. We have seen that some young players such as Sergi Dominguez, Noah Davich, Paul Prim and others have left the team, redeeming a small amount of funds for the club and making room for the lineup. What is more noticeable is the possible huge changes in the goalkeeper's position. According to reports, new coach Flick may inform the meritorious captain Ter Stegen that he will no longer be the first choice for the new season. This is undoubtedly a very important and even somewhat ruthless decision. But we can also see from this that as a new coach, Flick is firmly implementing his team building plan and trying to solve the problem of excessive salary structure of the club. The opening of a new era is often accompanied by a difficult farewell to past meritorious players. It can be said that Barcelona is at a crossroads full of challenges and uncertainty this summer, and every step of their operations will profoundly affect the team's future direction.