When Didier Deschamps replaced Dembélé in the 40th minute of the final –along with Giroud, a full-fledged punishment, no matter how you look at it–, Barcelona fans took out the calculator: goodbye to Gordo de Navidad.
The price of the French winger, eternal hope, sank on the stock market and all that remained was to review the stone to verify that Qatar 2022 has not rewarded – nor excessively punished – FC Barcelona. If FC Barcelona has to revalue itself, it will be on inglorious nights of the Cup or the League, but not at the Universal Expo in Qatar.
More than a lever, Qatar allowed FC Barcelona to dream of a real estate hit. Characterized by buying high and selling low, Barça saw a unique opportunity in history opening up in Qatar: getting rid of a player at the price of gold... with the acquiescence of the fans! I would say that there is not a single player in the squad –not even Pedri– whose hypothetical transfer could sink the president. In this sense, Joan Laporta enjoys the privilege that plunged Bartomeu into misery, first a victim of Neymar's escape and a slave after the obligation to retain Messi at any price. Today, all FC Barcelona players are transferable –would anyone tear their clothes off?– and the board of directors has carte blanche to transfer them. These are times of penance, making cash and growing with what there is.
FC Barcelona was the club in the world with the most summons in this World Cup, no less than 17, one more than Bayern Munich. No commercial marketing and sports self-esteem operation could be so opportune at this point in the season, outside of the Champions League. The beginnings of the World Cup were promising, the end, disastrous. With the substitution of Dembélé, the last cartridge vanished: hardly any club will be around the offices of the Camp Nou these days, unless they do so while waiting for discounts, sales and bargains.
No one has been revalued. The good news is that the youngsters have not been shorn either, not even Ansu Fati, who is exempted from criticism by circumstances (he simply wasn't fit for such commitments). The veterans have worn themselves out in Qatar –Lewandowski, alas–, but not to the point of questioning their signing. Dembele and Rafinha? As they say in these cases, you have to keep working...
Xavi Hernández regains prominence with a squad that has passed through Qatar at zero degrees: neither hot nor cold... No one can blame him for not knowing how to fit in with his players –Griezman is no longer here– nor for having a top-class squad.
