Not many changes are expected at a club which has just won all there is to win. But for better or worse, Barcelona is a club unlike many, especially in terms of its ownership, which this summer means elections. Therefore, while subtle changes and fine tuning are going to be the norms for Barca's on-pitch facet, a major overhaul is set to take place off the pitch, with Presidential elections set to take place on 18th of this month.
Here we take a look at Barca's summer activity so far:
The Aleix Vidal signing
Catalonia was yet to wake up from its slumber party of treble glory when Barca announced the signing of Aleix Vidal from Sevilla. This was so unlike the normal transfer fare of Barcelona, which in the past seasons has been a procession of mini soap operas, playing 'tag-you-are-it' with one target after another, especially with defenders.
Instead, this was Barca saying - we got a problem at right-back and we're gonna get a reliable right-back pronto, we will not be left hung out to dry by this Dani Alves contract situation. Subsequently, Alves renewed his contract and Montoya, who did not really display the level required to excel at Barca, left for Inter and more playing time.
- Vidal, during his unveiling
Overall, the Barca board can be applauded for deftly handling a situation that could have turned messy. Imagine Dani Alves joining another club leaving us with Montoya for half the season (because of the transfer ban) and other clubs, knowing this, holding us to ransom for even an average talent.
Coming to the actual signing of Vidal itself, at 25 years and £16m, with Europa league glory, it is a good bargain. He has half the season to get acclimatised to the Barca playing style and learn the trade under Alves, the erstwhile master of the trade. Vidal showed that he is a workhorse at Sevilla last season and is actually a winger converted to right-back. Therefore, at Barca, thanks to Alves' legacy, he will have all the license to display his attacking flair.
I just hope he doesn't take crossing lessons from Alves.
Contract Extensions - Alba and Pedro
In a world where transfer fees are seen as a measure of how good a player is, it is peculiar that players' contracts are seldom talked about as much. I mean, the transfer fee is actually paid to the selling club, not the player. The appreciation of a player's talent should logically reflect in his wages.
But, any football fan is more likely to know the transfer fee of each player at the club he supports and maybe even at the rival club, but not the salaries. For one thing, they are often undisclosed and confidential. And even otherwise, the press tends to focus less on the contracts and consequently, so do we.
However, they are always lurking in the background and come to the fore once in a while like in the ongoing Real-Ramos-United saga. Ramos feels indignant that his contract has been let to run down until its final two years, thereby undermining his value at a club where he has served for 10 years. Although I do not know his specific demands, it is indeed surprising to see that his contract was not renewed earlier, given that he is their most experienced and arguably best defender, a natural leader on the pitch, a Spain international and crowd favourite, and the 11th-hour-samaritan of Decima glory. Only Ronaldo can probably eclipse him in that squad.
- Ramos, the Decima hero, feels undervalued at Madrid
I took a little detour there, but the point is that contract dealings are under-appreciated in football and can come back to bite you later if ignored. Therefore, it was a good piece of business when Barca got Alba, easily one of the top three left-backs in the world, to put pen on paper on a deal which ties him to the club until 2020.
Coming to Pedro, everyone expected him to leave the club this summer, seeing how he was too talented a player to warm the bench behind the invincible MSN trident. So, it was surprising when he signed a contract extension until 2019 with a £150m release clause.
Pedro is a fan favourite at Barca, being a Masia graduate and a relentless worker for the team whenever he is on the pitch, always giving 100%. It says something of his love for the club that he chose to fight for his place, knowing fully well that it will be very tough unless one of MSN is injured, when he could have easily secured a transfer to a top club with a lucrative contract.
In a way, I judge Pedro for not being more ambitious, but this is great news for Barca. Not many teams can boast a backup striker with the quality of Pedro.
All in all, more decisive work done by the Barca board early in the summer.
The Presidential Elections
The signing of Aleix Vidal, the contract extensions of Alves, Pedro and Alba - all of them pushed through at express speed, don't you think? I mean it's hardly been a month since that Champions League final.
And I have not yet mentioned the most crucial piece in the puzzle yet, the contract extension of Luis Enrique. It is a very rare moment when a coach who has just won the treble says he doesn't know whether he will stay on for another season, but Lucho graciously provided us with one of those on June 6 in Berlin.
Maybe he was taunting those who called for his sacking mid-season, but in all his infinite mercy, he agreed for a contract extension within a week.
And shortly afterward, Josep Maria Bartomeu resigned from his presidential post to give way for the elections. He might have as well stood on a podium in from of the 177,246 socios who will vote on 18 July, and said - 'Look, I got Lucho to extend and got all this other stuff done. Elect me!' It is hard not to attribute Barca's prompt work this summer to the upcoming elections.
- Bartomeu was a busy man after the Champs League final
While Bartomeu is relying on the treble success, the signings of Neymar, Suarez and Rakitic which have vastly contributed to that success and also are widely believed to have started a winning cycle that can last another 3-4 years, his main opponent, Joan Laporta's main standpoints are the values which he vows to bring back to the Camp Nou that he claims have left it in recent years.
Laporta is appealing to the romanticism of the socios when it comes to La Masia and Barca's association with Johan Cruyff and UNICEF. While he had his fair share of shortcomings during his last tenure, the wounds left by the incumbent Barca board are still very fresh, what with numerous court proceedings concerning Neymar's transfer, the ongoing FIFA transfer ban, the non-renewal of Abidal's contract after promising to do so and the decline of La Masia resulting in its relegation to the third tier of Spanish football this year.
Recently, Abidal has been named Sporting Director of Laporta's bid and Cruyff has also thrown his weight behind Laporta's bid saying if Laporta loses, so does Barca.
All of this paints a picture where it is hard to see Laporta losing. And if he does win, it will be a nice big cherry on the top of a sweet summer cake for Barcelona, as they embark on a journey to hit the heights of glory past.
