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Barcelona have had one of their worst seasons in the last few years. After losing Lionel Messi in the summer, the team imploded. It was the fault of coach Ronald Koeman, but players share the blame as well. There was a resurgence under new coach Xavi, but a 13-point gap between them and Real Madrid speaks volumes. As the summer comes and the roster for next season is being planned, some guys will have to leave the club. Here are three players Barcelona must move on from this summer.
Players Barcelona must move on from this summer
Riqui Puig
The Spanish youngster has an interesting story behind him. Puig made his debut for Barcelona in 2019, aged just 20, and played great for the first couple of months.
Unfortunately, it all went downhill when coach Koeman took over in 2020. The infamous Dutch manager did not really like what Puig was all about and played him rarely, drawing much ire from Barcelona supporters who saw something great in the young midfielder.
By the time Xavi took over, guys like Nico, Pedri, and Gavi were ready to take over the middle, and Puig was pushed aside, meaning that minutes were few and far between. Just 15 appearances in La Liga tell the whole story for this player.
As this summer comes and Barcelona are set to add one more player in the middle with Franck Kessie, Puig just needs a new start. He would do well in a mid-tier Spanish club, where his creativity would be highlighted and his lack of physicality hidden. If he sticks with Barcelona, Puig would just waste his talent and Barcelona would waste one spot that could go to a new signing or a new product of their La Masia. If things went in another direction, Puig could have been the cornerstone of the new and improved Barcelona, but now, it seems like he will have to fight for his footballing life.
Samuel Umtiti
The French center back has had some great moments for Barcelona since he joined the club in 2016. His first two seasons saw Umtiti play on a very high level, but since then, it has gone AWOL.
In his preparation to be a member of the French national team for the 2018 World Cup, Umtiti played out of his skin and really earned his call-up, but since that World Cup in 2018, Umtiti just played 41 league games in four years, including just one league appearance this season.
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Due to his massive salary and Barcelona's problems with money, it would be smart to get rid of him this summer. Now, it will be difficult, but it needs to be done, not only due to the money but also due to the young talent that would lose minutes if Umtiti played.
Right now, the presumed center-back pairing of the future for Barcelona is Eric Garcia and Ronald Araujo. Both are under the age of 24, both are basically homegrown talent, and both looked great together at times. With Gerard Pique to guide them, and Clement Lenglet and Oscar Mingueza to be backups, it just looks like Umtiti should not be in the plans for Xavi or any other Barcelona coach, for that matter.
Thus, as they look to clear their books this summer, one of the first names they should consider getting rid of is Samuel Umtiti, who will then have time to completely revive his career.
Ousmane Dembele
This is a very tough choice, simply because Dembele under Xavi and Dembele under Koeman were two different players. Under Koeman, Dembele was perpetually underused, when he was not injured. Under Xavi, Dembele has looked like the player Barcelona paid all that money for in 2017.
Now, his contract is up and negotiations are currently ongoing. He could stay in Barcelona and sign a new deal, but it would prove counterproductive. It would be throwing money for basically half a season where, truth be told, Dembele was great. Unfortunately for Barcelona, if they were to give him the money, and he gets injured again, it would be a waste of the investment, something that could financially ruin the club.
Additionally, Dembele's play could hinder the improvement many youngsters in Barcelona had this season. Some of their best young talents could play on that right side and they could benefit a ton from more playing time that would be freed up if Dembele left the club. Maybe some of them are not ready to be La Liga contenders, but neither is Barcelona really.
Thus, a transitional season with La Masia youngsters on the field could do a lot of good, and a part of that would be to let Dembele walk for free this summer. Sure, it would mean taking a huge loss on him, considering the transfer fee, but that is simply how the situation turned out and it is on the Barcelona board to turn it around.
