Barcelona president under scrutiny due to questionable transfer planning | OneFootball

Joan Laporta is currently three-and-a-half years into his second presidential tenure at FC Barcelona and the road so far has been filled with hurdles.

The 62-year-old returned to the club after winning the presidential elections in 2021 but has had to tackle various issues emanating from the Blaugrana’s poor financial situation.

With his term set to come to an end in 2026, Laporta plans to run for the presidential elections once again, but a return might not be easy as frustrations have begun to grow over how things are being run at the club, especially with regard to transfers.

Four summers into his return as president, Barcelona are still struggling to find ways to register players in La Liga. As such, they have had to resort to questionable transfer decisions which have now put Laporta under intense scrutiny.

Poor planning laid bare

Back in the summer of 2023, Barcelona made six signings. A deal was struck to sign Vitor Roque from Athletico Paranaense (although he arrived in January this year) while Inigo Martinez and Ilkay Gundogan were signed on free transfers.

Furthermore, Barcelona roped in Joao Felix and Joao Cancelo on loan deals with the promise of making their transfers permanent, while also signing Oriol Romeu for a fee of around €3.4 million from Girona, as a replacement for Sergio Busquets.

However, now, with less than two weeks left before the current summer transfer window closes, Barcelona are likely to be left with just one player from the signings that were made last year.

Gundogan, Roque set to depart. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

Indeed, Romeu has already left, rejoining Girona on loan while Joao Felix and Joao Cancelo have also returned to their parent clubs with little to no possibility of a move back to Barça despite Laporta and Deco’s insistence on retaining them in the past.

Meanwhile, Vitor Roque – a personal bet from Deco – is on his way out as well after failing to convince Xavi and Hansi Flick.

Now, Gundogan, too, is being forced out of the club as the Catalans are unable to register their latest signing Dani Olmo, due to the lack of salary space.

If the German leaves, which is looking increasingly likely, Barcelona would be left with just one player in the squad that they signed in the summer of 2023.

One must not forget that Julian Araujo – another player signed in 2023, albeit in January – has already been sold as well.

Laporta under scrutiny

Under pressure. (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images)

All this sheds a poor light on Barcelona’s transfer planning and raises critical questions about the decisions that are being made.

There is already unrest building within members at the club, with opposition groups being formed against Laporta and his board.

And, the transfer planning for the past year is only bound to increase the scrutiny on the club president and his team, including Deco, who was brought in as a personal bet by Laporta, at the cost of sacrificing Mateu Alemany.

From the failure to retain Lionel Messi in 2021 to the disappointing manner of handling Xavi’s departure earlier in the year and the unsubstantiated statements about the club’s ability to sign Nico Williams this summer – Laporta has had some major fumbles along the way.

There have been incidents of fans chanting against him in the recent past and the disgruntled voices are unlikely to be quietened anytime soon given how things have gone for Barcelona in the current transfer window.