Barcelona's $2bn transfer black hole in danger of trapping WC winner Antoine Griezmann

With Real Madrid taking full control of the title race, missing out on the LaLiga title appears to be one of Barcelona's smallest problems at the moment. The Barcelona finances have been under increased scrutiny ever since the coronavirus pandemic. To add to the trouble with the Barcelona finances, there now appears to be a rift between the players and the manager. The Barcelona chaos was further amplified when manager Quique Setien made an intriguing remark on French star Antoine Griezmann.

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Quique Setien comments on Antoine Griezmann

Following the disappointing 2-2 draw against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday, Barcelona boss Quique Setien made a shocking remark on World Cup winner Antoine Griezmann by claiming the Frenchman's inclusion in the starting XI 'destabilizes' the team. Not only were the comments on Antoine Griezmann embarrassing for the forward, but they were also compounded by the fact that Setien's remarks came just after Griezmann was subbed on in the 90th minute against his former club. Barcelona splashed out a whopping $135 million (€120m) for the services of Antoine Griezmann from Atletico Madrid in the summer and it appears that the 29-year-old attacker is also being sucked into the $2 billion transfer black hole at Camp Nou. 

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Barcelona finances: Spending $2 billion (€1.77bn) on 32 players in six years

Strangely, the Griezmann situation at Barcelona is just the tip of the iceberg. Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez are the only stalwarts preventing Barcelona from withering away behind the two Madrid giants, with both on the wrong side of 30. Along with Griezmann, Barcelona also splashed out hefty funds on Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele but have failed to justify the value of their big-money moves. 

In total, Barcelona have spent an estimated $2 billion (€1.77bn) on 32 players since 2014, winning the Champions League just once while arch-rivals Real Madrid have been crowned European champions three times during that period. Despite winning the LaLiga title on four occasions during that time, Barcelona have been struggling to find replacements for club legends such as Xavi, Iniesta and Dani Alves with the club in a financial mess. Coutinho and Arthur Melo were deemed as the heirs to Iniesta and Xavi, but both do not seem to have a future at the club. The deal to send Arthur to Juventus was agreed earlier this week, while Coutinho's future is up in the air.

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Barcelona finances: Quique Setien training bust-up

Following the 2-2 draw against Celta Vigo on Saturday, the Quique Setien training bust-up with the Barcelona players made headlines on Sunday. According to reports from Marca, there was an issue with Lionel Messi and Setien as the 33-year-old Argentine reportedly demanded the sacking of the 61-year-old Barcelona boss. Barcelona dropping points against Celta Vigo and Atletico Madrid allowed Real Madrid to take complete control of the title race. Real Madrid now remain one point clear of Barcelona at the top of the LaLiga table along with a game in hand. 

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Image Credits - AP