That there was only one of Puyol, at Camp Nou they are learning to the sound … of wasted millions. To the point that you can begin to think that there is a real curse that prevents Barcelona from finding the heir of the curly-haired defender!
Some players in the history of a club are truly irreplaceable, either in terms of technical figures, or in terms of importance in the locker room. Some gaps are not easily filled, sometimes it takes years, others a lot of money. But in the case of Barcelona and Carles Puyol, neither of them seems to be enough yet. The central Catalan was the rock on which the fortunes of the Blaugrana were based from 1999 to 2014, when they decided to hang up their boots at just 36 years old. And even if just a year later Barça obtained their second treble, with Jefecito Javier Mascherano in the center of the defense together with Gerard Piquè, then things changed.
And that there was only one Puyol, at Camp Nou they are learning to the sound … of wasted millions. To the point that, as he claims AS, one can begin to think that there is a real curse that prevents Barcelona from finding the heir of the curly-haired defender. It has been just eight years since Puyol retired, but in the meantime 13 new central defenders have passed in the Blaugrana squad. Some have risen to the first team from the youth teams, others have arrived thanks to the market for more or less important figures. But no one has ever managed to fill the void, football and personality, left by the Shark of La Pobla de Segur. A joke that has cost Barça 120 million euros so far.
The most expensive central, who is also the one who played the most (at least until the arrival of Xavi, who sent him to Tottenham) was Clement Lenglet, paid 36 million to Sevilla. Samuel Umtiti follows, arrived from Lyon for 25 million, harassed by injuries. Then there is Jeremy Mathieu, who cost 20 million and deployed very little, as well as Thomas Vermaelen, who cost 19 million. They are 12.5 those spent on Yerry Mina, let go after a short time, 5 million it cost Marlon, never seen on the pitch in two seasons, 1,2 Jeison Murillo, who arrived to make the reserve and was jubilated as soon as the emergency was over, and one million was the price of Jean-Clair Todibo, who was to be the center of the future and who instead is already far from the Camp Nou. And even without considering who came from the cantera like Ronald Araujo or free like Eric Garcia and Andreas Christensen, the scores do not add up. Neither on the budgets nor on the pitch …
July 12 – 11:56 am
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