Reigning La Liga champions, Barcelona have agreed to sell star forward, David Villa to Atletico Madrid for just 5.1 million euros, a deal that is indeed a bargain for the capital club as they have just acquired a player who has won everything club and international football has on offer.
Villa’s joining is subject to a medical and if he leaves Vicente Calderon before his contract expires, Barca will get just 4.1 million euros in total for the player.
Although everyone accepted that the Asturian was going to leave Camp Nou this summer, few would have predicted that president, Sandro Rosell and his advisors would sanction a transfer for such a low price.
It is quite hard to accept that Spain’s top goalscorer did not command a decent transfer amount. Moreover, Barcelona paid Valencia a whopping 40 million euros for the player’s acquisition just three years back.
The transfer was necessary for the club in order to raise funds for signing a central defender letting a transfer happen for such a talented player for a ridiculously low amount is something that is very hard to fathom.
In a transfer market where less trophy-laden players like James Rodriguez, Andre Schurle and Ricky van Wolfswinkel went for good amounts, it is astonishing to see Atletico Madrid literally pay peanuts for a top class player.
However, this is not the first time Barcelona have made a meal of things while letting go of a player they initially brought in for a considerable amount.
Back in the summer transfer window of 2009, the Catalans devised a massive 69 million euros plan to acquire the services of Swedish international Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Such was Barcelona’s urge to sign the mercurial forward that they agreed to offer star striker and their Champions League final hero Samuel Eto’o as part of the deal.
The Sweden international arrived at the club as one of the hottest strikers in the continent but as it turned out, Ibra simply struggled to live up to high expectations not because of his form but because he was not really the player Pep Guardiola had wanted.
Zlatan’s agent Mino Raiola, a man who does not bother to mince his words summed up the Ibra-Barca transfer by saying,
In the end, the player was sold to AC Milan for a considerably lower price.
Same is the case with so many other past players. Dmytro Chygrynskiy arrived from Shakhtar Donetsk for 25 million euros and after several high profile errors, was sold back to the Ukrainian club for 15 million, one has to say that Shakhtar might have never made a better investment than the Chygrynskiy deal.
Brazilian striker Keirrison is another of Guardiola’s mystery signings. He arrived from Coritiba for 14 million euros and was touted to achieve great things with his new club. However four years and five loan spells later the 24 year old is yet to make a single appearance for Barcelona.
Alexander Hleb was brought to Camp Nou for 17 million euros from Arsenal in 2008 and the Belarusian became one of the highest paid benchwarmers during his time at the club. His four years at the club yielded just 19 appearances, with the Belarusian forced to spend most of his time on loan spells at foreign clubs.
Martin Caceres is another example of how bad Barcelona have been when it comes to making profit. A competent full back who currently plays his trade at Juventus, Caceres joined Barcelona after the Catalans paid Villarreal 16.5 million Euros for the Uruguayan’s services.
His only year at the club was riddled with injuries and other technical decisions which restricted him to just 13 appearances. After several loan spells he finally joined Sevilla for a mere three million euros.
It would be quite understandable if a Barcelona supporter questions the recent decisions Rosell has taken ever since he returned to the club presidency in 2010. Releasing a highly experienced player in Eric Abidal, letting go of Villa for almost nothing and the more than likely departure of Thiago Alcantara for a price that is far below what he is worth.
Alexis Sanchez and Cesc Fabregas cost the club a lot of money but their role at the club has been largely peripheral which again takes us back to Raiola’s comment that “if you don’t play a footballer after spending 65 million euros, then you should be sent to a mental hospital.”
Barcelona’s latest acquisition Neymar carries with him an inflated price tag, it remains to be seen whether he awaits a similar fate.
Maybe, it is time for the people wearing the suits at Camp Nou to reassess their transfer market potency if they are to avoid another fiasco of a David Villa proportions.
