Opinion: Barcelona should look to sell at least two forwards this summer

Defeat to Manchester United on Thursday ended a dismal season in Europe for Barcelona. After a disappointing group stage exit in the Champions League, the Blaugrana have now exited the Europa League at the first hurdle.

Despite having a successful season so far domestically, Barcelona often measure themselves by their performances in European competition. An excellent first half showing against their Premier League opponents saw them on their way to progression, but Fred’s early second half goal rattled Xavi Hernandez’s side, and they never recovered.

When a team’s backs are up against the walls, they look to their creative players to drive them forward. For Barcelona, that should have been Raphinha. However, the Brazilian produced a desperately poor performance in Manchester, before being replaced after 75 minutes.

He has had an excellent start to 2023, but the match against Manchester United was a perfect opportunity to show why he deserves a regular starting spot, even when Ousmane Dembele returns from injury. However, he failed to do so.

Fellow attackers Ferran Torres and Ansu Fati made substitute appearances against Man Utd, and while the former showed glimpses on his return to Manchester, neither has the desired impact from the bench.

If Barcelona are to take the next step into becoming a European force again, they will require big signings over the next couple of seasons. However, the club’s financial situation may well prevent this unless major sales are processed.

Raphinha, Torres and Fati have all been linked with moves away from Barcelona at different times throughout the season, and if two are sold, they could raise enough funds to ease the pressure on their finances, while also sufficiently strengthening in order to make Xavi’s squad better.

With Dembele to return, having all four seems like a waste, especially when three (Raphinha, Torres and Dembele) all favour playing on the right wing. The Frenchman should be a priority to stay, but the question remains about who should join him next season.

When comparing Raphinha, Torres and Fati, the Brazilian is the oldest and has the lowest ceiling in terms of potential ability, despite his excellent performances in 2023 thus far. Taking into account that he is arguably no better than Dembele and Torres on the right, his sale should be a strong consideration for Barcelona this summer, especially if they can receive upwards of €70m.

Fati has not shown up for much of this season, and he is currently failing to deliver on the promise he showed when he first broke into the first team as a 16-year-old back in 2019. Injuries haven’t helped his cause, but he has had opportunities this season to show his worth to Xavi, but has largely failed to do so.

Torres showed what he can bring to the Barcelona squad in Sunday’s match against Cadiz, but the question for the remainder of the season will be if he can maintain that form. If he can, he could well deserve to stay in the Barcelona squad for next season.

Equally, if Fati can suddenly prove his value and becoming an attacking threat again, then he could then deserve to be a Barcelona player next season. However, it may be better served letting one of the two go in order to generate transfer funds and bring in a top quality left winger if neither step up their game.

Barcelona have proven that they have been the best team in Spain so far this season, but Cules will be desperate for European success to return to the club in the coming seasons, and ruthlessness may be required for that to happen.

Image via EFE