From Messi and Griezmann to Memphis and Aguero How did Barcelona live the surreal transfer period?

Messi cries during his last press conference at the Camp Nou 

Barcelona was full of optimism and hope at the start of the transfer period when the club's new president, Joan Laporta, promised a bright future, but it ended in disaster and the historic free departure of the club's legend, Lionel Messi.

With the advent of the first of September and the end of the summer transfer period, it is difficult for fans and analysts to believe what happened in the ancient Catalan club.

Collapse from the start

Sergio Aguero, Eric Garcia, Emerson Royal and Memphis Depay arrived early in Barcelona,   amid hopes to renew the squad, and the feeling of optimism increased, but it quickly seemed that things were not going well.

Without this group of players with astronomical salaries, salaries have already exceeded 100% of the club's revenue, and the rules of Financial Fair Play did not allow the Spanish League to register new deals for Barcelona.

Lionel Messi's contract expired on June 30, meaning that he became a free player, but the club said that everything was under control, and that the Argentine star would renew his contract with the team.

Messi bomb

Everything changed on August 5, when Barcelona exploded a bomb by announcing the departure of Messi due to "financial and structural obstacles".

Laporta explained the club's collapse, saying that the size of the deficit amounted to 451 million euros (532.86 million dollars), and he tried to postpone the payments to Messi's contract, but the League did not allow it.

With Messi's departure, the wage rate has become 95 %, which required the sale of players, but it is still a drop in the sea.

Salary cuts

The next phase of the surreal transfer period came, and the club admitted that it was asking senior players to agree to cut their salaries and defer their dues.

Gerard Pique was the first to agree, and allowed the registration of Emerson, Depay and Garcia, and then Jordi Alba and captain Sergio Busquets agreed on the last day of the transfer period, giving the green light to Aguero's recent registration in the Spanish League.

The excitement of the last day

On August 31, local media speculation began about Barcelona signing Raheem Sterling and Joao Felix, but these rumors dissipated, as the name of Dani Olmo appeared.

Then it became clear that these names were leaked for the entertainment of the fans only, while the club focused on selling and reducing wages.

Newcomer Emerson was sold to Tottenham, then Eilash Moreba moved to Leipzig.

And in the final moments of the transfer period, Barcelona said that Antoine Griezmann, who signed him for 120 million euros in 2019 from Atletico Madrid, was loaned to his former club.

New reality

Barcelona managed to conclude a new deal, but while maintaining the new reality of austerity, as it included Luc de Jong, 31, on loan from Seville.

It was a harsh summer for the Catalan club, and he had to pay the price after years of financial mismanagement, but the question that the club avoids: Does the team pay the price on the field?