Barcelona hit rock bottom on Wednesday following its 3-0 loss to Bayern Munich on the final matchday of the 2021-2022 UEFA Champions League group stage.

Barca needed a win over Bayern Munich or a Dynamo Kyiv win or draw result against Benfica to advance on through to the Champions League knockout stage. Benfica took care of business against Dynamo Kyiv, while Barca orchestrated a performance to forget as Bayern once again had its way against the Catalan side on both sides of the ball.

Barca will now compete in the UEFA Europa League for the first time in 17 years, which will be a first for veteran midfielder Sergio Busquets. The longtime Barca talent has regularly featured in crucial Champions League knockout stage fixtures over the past decade but will now play European football on Thursdays for the first time in his storied career.

Article Continues Below
More Soccer News
Nike Kobe FC Barcelona, Nike Air Force 1, Kobe Air Force 1, Nike Kobe Barcelona
Kobe Bryant x FC Barcelona x Nike Air Force 1 first lookDominik Zawartko ·
Real Madrid player Kylian Mbappe next to a first aid kit
Why Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe is suing PSGRishav Bhat ·
National Womens Soccer League (NWSL) soccer balls are seen on the field prior to a match between San Diego Wave FC and Racing Louisville FC at Lynn Family Stadium.
New Boston Legacy HC promises passionate ‘chameleonic’ style of soccerGuillermo Guajardo ·
San Diego Wave FC forward Alex Morgan (13) waves to fans while walking off the field following her final match before retiring at Snapdragon Stadium.
Alex Morgan to receive San Diego Wave’s first jersey retirement honorGuillermo Guajardo ·
Kevin Durant attends a WNBA game between the Atlanta Dream and LA Sparks at Crypto.com Arena.
Kevin Durant buys minority stake in Champions League winners PSGQuinn Allen ·
Florian Wirtz in a Liverpool jersey
Florian Wirtz drops eye-opening admission after joining LiverpoolQuinn Allen ·

As Busquets touched on following the match, this new reality for Barcelona is one filled with what-ifs.

“It hurts, it hurts our pride,” Busquets said. “We partly earned the situation on the field. We had it in our hands, we didn't do things right in the first few days. We got ourselves into this mess. Of course it hurts to play in the Europa League, because we wanted the Champions League.

“It is clear that many teams have gone through this situation not long ago… It's a step back to give momentum. It's not the best situation or the one we wanted, but you also have to be in the bad times.”

The Europa League knockout stage draw will be held this Monday, but before this, Barcelona will return to La Liga play with an upcoming away league fixture against Osasuna. The Catalan side currently sits at seventh place in the league standings.