The debacle against Girona in Montilivi has done as much or more damage than the elimination in the Champions League against PSG or the defeat in the Clásico at the Bernabéu. The shocked faces of the club’s main officials at the exit of the stadium, starting with Joan Laporta and continuing with Deco, already foreshadowed the magnitude of the tragedy.. And the fact is that the 4-2 not only meant losing the hegemony of Catalan football – it has been more than eighty years since a Catalan club has finished above Barcelona – but it also relegated the Blaugrana to third place, or what is Likewise, it closes the doors to the Spanish Super Cup and therefore to the eight million income from participating.
As AS has learned, the club will postpone all decisions until the end of the season, waiting to know if the locker room is capable of reversing the situation and finishing second. The reality is that it no longer depends on itself: it is one point below Girona and the ‘goal average’ has been lost with four games remaining. The calendar is not very favorable for the Blaugrana either, who have to play against Real Sociedad, Almería, Rayo Vallecano and Sevilla, while Míchel’s men will face Alavés, Villarreal, Valencia and Granada.
Club sources assume it will be “a failure” if the team does not ultimately qualify second, to the point that they warn that finishing third could “open up new scenarios,” some of them “very traumatic.” In fact, not even the continuity of Xavi Hernández – recently announced after his ’boutade’ three months ago – would be one hundred percent guaranteed.. We must not forget that after the defeat at the Bernabéu, the coach’s future was up in the air: the president even proposed at a board of directors the departure of Xavi as of July 1, with the support of a good part of the board. , a decision that was later reversed after meeting with the coach. Not achieving the minimum objective – second place – would put Xavi’s continuity in a very serious situation..
But not only Xavi’s future would be at stake: Rafa Márquez’s shadow continues to be long and even more so if he finally manages to be promoted to the subsidiary. Finishing third would open Pandora’s box within the club, with several names on the edge of the abyss. For a start, Players with the highest chips and who have not given a ‘plus’ this season, such as Ronald Araújo and Frenkie de Jong – pending downward renewals – would be invited to leave.while others would also have their days numbered, such as Robert Lewandowski -both due to his age and his high salary-, and Some, who have never entered the pools, could change the non-transferable label, like Pedri, after completing a mediocre season. Furthermore, some renewals that are considered certain, such as Sergi Roberto, would be postponed ‘sine die’, ignoring in this case the coach’s intentions.
Also some players who are on loan could see their future compromised. The ‘Joaos’, Cancelo and Félix, would have very few options to continuewhile the doors would also be closed to the majority of loan players who have to return to Barcelona this summer, starting with Ansu Fati.
What seems clear is that neither Laporta nor Deco will tremble when making decisions, no matter how traumatic they may seem. Right now only five players are out of the equation: Lamine Yamal, Gavi, Fermín López, Pau Cubarsí and Marc-André ter Stegen. The rest, including the staff, is at risk in the next four games.
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