Six years after arriving at the Camp Nou, and having become after all this time the third highest scorer in the history of Barça, Luis Suárez negotiates his contractual liquidation with the Barça entity before leaving for Juventus in exchange of a low transfer –three million euros– that would increase depending on the fulfillment of some variables. The Uruguayan striker will reinforce the Italian champions – where he will meet Cristiano Ronaldo and Arthur Melo – three weeks after Ronald Koeman told him by phone, in a call of just over a minute, that he was not in his plans.
The firm decision of the Dutch coach will lighten the payroll, alleviate certain internal vices, shake the team’s line of attack and may lead to a more protagonist version of Antoine Griezmann or Ousmane Dembélé, who will remain in the squad despite having yielded below what was expected (especially the Mosquito). But at the same time he has a point of risk if we take into account that Suárez has scored an average of 32.6 goals per season at Barça, with a peak of 59 goals between all competitions in the 15/16 campaign – in which Bota was proclaimed d’Or – and the guarantee of never having dropped below 20 in any of its six years in Barcelona. Luisito’s farewell also involves depriving Leo Messi of his best friend in the dressing room and his best partner on the field: the assists that have been made to each other reach almost 90. The Argentine had entered football maturity with a pure tip which opened spaces in front of him. Now, with his neighbor still looking for a home in Turin and in a context that prevents large expenditures in the market, he will have to promote new complicities and evoke the years in which he shared attack with mobile strikers like Pedro, Alexis, Neymar or Villa. Because Barça, for the first time since 2014, have a lot of numbers to face a whole season without a center forward, without a first-class specialist striker like Suárez.
As the original goal to replace the Uruguayan, Lautaro Martínez, is practically impossible due to a financial issue, Barça has turned its gaze to a more affordable, but less specific footballer, to support the offensive line. Koeman is in favor of signing Memphis Depay, whom he knows well from the Dutch national team, and the sports management wants to reduce the cost including Samuel Umtiti in the operation. The Franco-Cameroonian center-back, who wants to be fired because he charges too much given his low participation, would return to his home club, which yesterday, through its sporting director, Juninho Pernambucano, admitted to RMC that Depay “is in a strong position” because he only has one year left on his contract. “Barça have not made any formal proposals for him, but if they do we will have to listen to him”, added the former player about the Dutchman, who despite his good numbers (15 goals in 21 games last season ) is not a born center forward, but rather is one of those who lean to the left side to find shooting positions. Despite this nuance, the Lyon footballer is the favorite to strengthen the Catalan attack. In times of pandemic, ending a contract ten months from now at just 26 is too greedy not to consider signing him.
Coutinho is left
With Depay, without Suárez and the asterisk of Braithwaite, who is a center forward but does not count for Koeman, the final picture of Barça’s offensive would be without area players. Those who continue – Messi, Griezmann, Dembélé and Fati -, the one who has already arrived – Trincao – and the one who is close to doing so – Depay – have many virtues, but they do not base their repertoire on what they do with the Central rivals on top, but prefer partnership with teammates or individual action to find the opposing goal. The ending is not the essence of their game, but a happy consequence of the moves they make in attack. This description also fits to talk about Philippe Coutinho, who yesterday rejoined training with the group, once his transfer to Bayern Munich has ended. The Brazilian signed for Barça in January 2018 to play in the position of Iniesta, a left-back with an offensive vocation, but he did not adapt to the needs of the Barça midfield, which demands fast circulation of the ball and work of pressure wear. Nor did he convince when Valverde placed him on a false end. Now, however, between his good end to the season in Bavaria – two goals for Barça in the quarterfinals of the Champions League – and the tightness of the market, Koeman has recovered him for the cause in the hope that he will exploit the whole his talent, now, at the Camp Nou. It remains to be seen, however, in which demarcation the new coach sees it most useful.
Rafinha, no firm offers
Another Brazilian in an ambiguous position is Rafinha, who continues to work in Sant Joan Despí waiting to know where he will play this season. The interest of Leeds and Celta de Vigo has transpired, a team where he has already played two campaigns on loan, but the reality is that there are still no firm offers for the youngster from Alcántara, who, despite ending his contract here ten months, he can’t get Barça down from 16 million to transfer him. Rafinha has been on loan to other teams for a year and a half, which has helped Barça to save a significant part of their record. On the other hand, he has a zero amortization cost, because he is a player trained at La Masia. With these two arguments and a contract that expires next year, he hopes that Bartomeu, Grau and Planes will make it easier for him to pursue his career elsewhere.
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