Barcelona's summer of transfer fireworks fizzled out before it even launched

Ronald Koeman's team have lost a bunch of stars in order to lighten the salary load

Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman. EPA

In the time of football behind-closed-doors, Camp Nou feels like the emptiest stadium of all, with more vacant seats than almost any other arena.

The training ground also looks emptier than the new Barcelona head coach Ronald Koeman would have liked, now that the transfer window has closed with an apologetic whimper.

Koeman wanted more buys than the club managed. There are employees, on vast salaries, he would have preferred to wave goodbye to. As Monday’s transfer deadline neared, Barcelona baulked at the cost, an initial €20m ($23m), of a new striker Koeman had petitioned for, Lyon’s Memphis Depay.

They stalled at the similar price asked for a central defender who wanted the move, Manchester City’s Eric Garcia.

So it was that a summer of trading which began with a bombshell – Lionel Messi’s request to leave – ended with the sound of fireworks fizzling out before they launched.

The good news, for the trophy-winning potential of Koeman-era Barcelona is that Messi remained, at least for one more season. The bad news is that he will lead a squad that looks lop-sided.

Koeman knows Memphis from working together with Holland’s national team. He was the preferred choice to fill a large gap left by Luis Suarez, who joined Atletico Madrid for a nominal deferred fee, easing a Barca a wage-bill that last season was the highest in club football.

After extended negotiations, Lyon lowered the asking price. Still there was no deal, and it became clearer to Koeman the Barcelona board, led by a beleaguered president Josep Maria Bartomeu, were only ready to take on Memphis if another high-earner could be shifted – Ousmane Dembele.

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20 most expensive transfers of the summer

Kai Havertz: Bayer Leverkusen to Chelsea (€80m/$93.7m) – The 21-year-old midfielder was the marquee signing of an extravagant summer for Chelsea. Getty Images

Arthur: Barcelona to Juventus (€72m) – A deal that was completed before the end of the delayed season, the 24-year-old Brazilian midfielder moved to Turin after two seasons in Spain. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Victor Osimhen: Lille to Napoli (€70m) – The Italian club smashed their transfer record to sign the 21-year-old Nigerian striker this summer. Getty Images

Ruben Dias: Benfica to Manchester City (€68m) – The 23-year-old Portuguese centre-back moved to the Etihad Stadium to help shore up City’s backline. PA

Miralem Pjanic: Juventus to Barcelona (€60m) – Part of the agreement that saw Arthur move to Juventus, the 30-year-old Serbian midfielder moved in the opposite direction in a separate deal. EPA

Alvaro Morata: Chelsea to Atletico Madrid (€56m) – The 27-year-old Spanish striker made his two-year loan move permanent before returning to former club Juventus in another loan deal. EPA

Timo Werner: RB Leipzig to Chelsea (€53m) – After a prolific season in the Bundesliga, the 24-year-old German striker swapped Leipzig for London. AP Photo

Ben Chilwell: Leicester City to Chelsea (€50.2m) – The 23-year-old England left-back was a top target for Chelsea manager Frank Lampard as he aims to solve his team’s defensive issues. AFP

Mauro Icardi: Inter Milan to Paris Saint-Germain (€50m) – After spending last season on loan with the French champions, the 27-year-old Argentine striker made the move permanent. AFP

Thomas Partey: Atletico Madrid to Arsenal (€50m) - The biggest deal on deadline day saw the 27-year-old Ghanian midfielder become Arsenal's fourth-most expensive signing. AFP

Nathan Ake: Bournemouth to Manchester City (€45.3m) – The 25-year-old Dutch defender was an early signing for City from relegated Bournemouth. AFP

Leroy Sane: Manchester City to Bayern Munich (€45m) – The best German talent often ends up at Bayern, and that’s exactly what happened when the 24-year-old winger left City in July for the European champions. Reuters

Diogo Jota: Wolves to Liverpool (€44.7m) – Signed to provide competition to Liverpool’s attack, the 23-year-old Portuguese forward moved to Anfield after three years at Wolves. EPA

Achraf Hakimi: Real Madrid to Inter Milan (€40m) – After two impressive seasons on loan at Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan pounced to sign the 21-year-old Moroccan wing-back. Getty Images

Hakim Ziyech: Ajax to Chelsea (€40m) – A deal that was completed back in February, the 27-year-old Moroccan winger was the first major signing of Chelsea’s overhaul. Getty Images

Fabio Silva: Porto to Wolves (€40m) – Wolves broke their transfer record to sign the 18-year-old Portuguese forward. Getty Images

Donny van de Beek: Ajax to Manchester United (€39m) – The 23-year-old Dutch midfielder moved to the Premier League after five exemplary years in the first team of his boyhood club. Getty Images

Wesley Fofana: Saint-Etienne to Leicester City (€35m) – The 19-year-old Ivorian defender became Leicester’s second-most expensive signing when he joined the Premier League club at the start of October. Reuters

Giovani Lo Celso: Real Betis to Tottenham Hotspur (€32m) – After impressing Jose Mourinho during his season on loan, the 24-year-old Spanish midfielder made his move to Spurs permanent. EPA

Jonathan David: Gent to Lille (€32m) – The French club broke their transfer record to sign the 20-year-old Canadian forward as a replacement for Osimhen. AFP

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Dembele, who was offered to Manchester United on loan, ahead of a possible permanent deal, proved too hard to move on. The gifted France winger’s fitness record is why: In three seasons since his €145m arrival from Borussia Dortmund, he has started a mere 35 matches.

So Memphis stayed in France, while Dembele lingers in Catalonia, an awkward reminder of a time when almost every transfer window brought into Camp Nou a €100m-plus star and money was plentiful. After Dembele, came Philippe Coutinho, at over €160m, from Liverpool; and Antoine Griezmann, €120m from Atletico.

Griezmann has worked out better than his French compatriot Dembele, although not so well that his national head coach, Didier Deschamps, does not see him as a round peg in a square hole at Barca. “I can’t understand why he is not playing in a more central role,” said Deschamps just as the transfer window was closing. “I don’t think Antoine is happy with his situation at Barcelona.”

I can't understand why he is not playing in a more central role

That central role will always be Messi’s as long as Messi chooses. And Suarez will always be remembered as Messi’s favourite striking partner. Just ahead of Neymar, whose 2017 sale for €222m to Paris Saint-Germain partly funded the extravagant spend on Dembele, Coutinho and Griezmann. Griezmann’s unenviable challenge is try to meet the standards set by Suarez and Neymar.

He has some new allies. Barcelona did sign Sergino Dest, an attacking right-back; Miralem Pjanic has arrived, in what was effectively a swap for midfielder Arthur with Juventus, and his midfield vision should be an asset.

But overall the club look like losers in the transfer window, after a season of many losses. They lost their hold on the Liga title; they lost 8-2 to Bayern Munich in the Champions League; they have lost their home crowds, thanks to the pandemic, which is a key income stream.

They have lost a troop of worldly footballers, from Suarez to Arturo Vidal to Ivan Rakitic, in order to lighten the salary load, and, just as the window closed, they lost the midfielder Rafinha, who left for PSG for a nominal fee.

That’s the same PSG who have been outplaying Barcelona in the transfer market for three years, who snatched Neymar and have rebuffed Barca bids for Angel di Maria, Marquinhos, Marco Verratti and, last summer, blocked a flimsy effort to bring Neymar back.

City looked at Barcelona’s bid for Garcia the same way: they firmly told the bidders they were not offering enough, even though Garcia seems set on running his contract down so he can leave for free next June.

One bright spot may be Coutinho, who spent last season unwanted and on loan at Treble-winning Bayern Munich. Barcelona had tried to offload him. No other club would match his vast wage.

But the Brazilian has started this season well, and looks ready to make a fresh start, seize his second chance to make that massive transfer fee look less misguided.