Barcelona announced on August 5 that Messi "will not continue" with the club in a statement. Despite the fact that FC Barcelona and Lionel Messi had reached an agreement and both sides had stated their intent to sign a new contract, the deal was unable to be completed due to financial and structural constraints imposed by La Liga Salary Cap regulations. Barcelona's wage-to-turnover ratio must be 70% according to the rules. Messi has been with Barcelona for over two decades and is the club's most decorated player. His children are Argentine-Catalan as well. The Catalans giants have been in the news for all wrong reasons and with the league starting in less than a week, they are in a financial mess. They haven’t registered any of their new signings and if they fail to do so in the next few days, these players won’t be able to start the season.
Also Read | Why did Barcelona fail to register Lionel Messi?
This brings us to Barcelona’s season ahead. A long season awaits for the Blaugrana and this time, Lionel Messi won’t be there to bail them out. Koeman is not trusted by the board but despite that, he will manage the team for the upcoming season. After defeating Athletic Bilbao 4–0 in the final, Barcelona won their 31st Copa del Rey and their first cup under Ronald Koeman. This was their only trophy from last season as they failed to win La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup. The club will face Real Sociedad at home in the first La Liga game of the season on 15th August. The club also announced that the stadium would be open in 30% capacity, which means 30,000 fans would be able to watch the game against Sociedad.
Transfers: 2021 Summer Window
Incomings:
· Sergio Aguero (Free Transfer) from Manchester City
· Eric Garcia (Free Transfer) from Manchester City
· Emerson (€9 million Transfer Free) from Real Betis
· Memphis Depay (Free Transfer) from Lyon
· Yusuf Demir (Loan) from Rapid Wien
Outgoings:
· Juan Miranda (Free Agent) to Real Betis
· Jean-Clair Todibo (€8.5 Tranfser Fee) to Nice
· Konrad de la Fuente (€3 million Transfer Fee) to Marseille
· Trincao (Loan) to Wolverhampton Wanderers
· Junior Firpo (€15 million Transfer Fee) to Leeds United
· Matheus Fernandes (Free Transfer) to Palmeiras
· Carles Alena (€5 million Transfer Fee) to Getafe
· Lionel Messi (Free Agent) to Paris Saint-Germain
The season ahead:
Going into the 2021-21 season, the Catalan giants would surely be one of the favorites to finish in the top four and qualify for the Champions League. Koeman still has top-class players at his disposal and they would need to step up this season in the absence of Messi. Barcelona have never played without Messi in the past decade and it will be hard for them to adapt to a new team. But with experienced players like Griezmann, Busquets, Pique, and Alba, youngsters like Pedri, Riqui Puig, Frenkie De Jong, Sergino Dest, Ansu Fati, Yusuf Demir, and newcomers like Emerson, Memphis, and Eric Garcia in their squad, they will surely give a tough time to all the teams they are set to face.
Ter Stegen is out for some time and it looks like Neto isn’t leaving. So Neto will start as the first-choice keeper for the first few games. Coutinho is fit again and Koeman has expressed his desire to trust him this season. Oscar Mingueza returned injured from the Olympics and he will be out for some time as well. New signing Sergio Aguero is also injured and he will stay out for 3-4 months. Barcelona will start their league campaign against Real Sociedad on 15th August at their home. With fans allowed in the stadium, they would be favorites for the opener. A week later, they face Athletic Bilbao away from home. Bilbao are a tough opponent and Koeman would need to make some tactical tweaks to control the likes of Inaki Williams. They also face Sevilla away from home, in the 4th gameweek. The first El Clasico of the season is on 24th October and it would be the first one without either Messi, Ronaldo, or Ramos.
Predictions for 2021-22 Season:
La Liga: 3rd place
Champions League: Round of 16
Spanish Super Cup: Winners
Predicted lineup for the new season (3-5-2):
Goalkeeper – Ter Stegen
Defenders – Ronald Araujo, Gerard Pique, Clement Lenglet
Wing-Backs – Sergino Dest, Jordi Alba
Midfielders – Frenkie De Jong, Sergio Busquets, Pedri
Forwards – Antoine Griezmann, Memphis Depay
Also Read | Longest unbeaten runs in La Liga history
