After CAS rejected the Blaugrana’s
appeal against a two-window transfer ban, Real Madrid have been given free rein
to dominate Spanish football for the next two seasons
Things could not get any better for
Real Madrid right now. Their victory over San Lorenzo in the Club World Cup
final 10 days ago was their fourth trophy in 2014, adding to the Copa del Rey,
Uefa Super Cup and, of course, the fabled 10th Champions League crown. They are
top of La Liga with a game in hand, setting all kinds of records at home and
abroad, and Cristiano Ronaldo is almost certain to retain the Ballon d’Or.
And to complete an almost perfect year
– bitter rivals Barcelona will now definitively be unable to sign any more
players until January 2016.
On Tuesday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport
(CAS) rejected Barca’s appeal against a two-window transfer ban, after the
Catalans had been found guilty by Fifa of signing underage overseas players.
"CAS has dismissed the appeal
filed by FC Barcelona against Fifa regarding the decision issued by the Fifa
Appeals Committee on August 19, 2014," said a CAS statement.
"The panel found in particular
that FC Barcelona had breached the rules regarding the protection of minors and
the registration of minors attending football academies ... Accordingly, the
Fifa decision is confirmed in full and the sanction remains in force."
Tuesday’s
news is a hammer blow to Barcelona and will allow Madrid to further increase
the widening gap between the two Clasico clubs.
The Blaugrana’s squad already has a
number of gaping holes in it. Despite conceding just seven goals in 16 La Liga
games this term, the defence showed in the 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid and 3-2
loss at Paris Saint-Germain that it is not strong enough in the elite matches
that now define modern football and decide trophies.
All
three right-back options are insufficient. Douglas was barely an above-average
full back at Sao Paolo before moving to Spain, while both Martin Montoya and
Dani Alves had been expected to leave – with the latter’s contract expiring in
the summer. However, Barca will now be forced to retain at least one of those
two players – probably the ex-Sevilla man, who is clearly past his best.
At
centre-back, Gerard Pique may be only 27 but he seems unlikely to ever return
to the levels he reached as Carles Puyol’s partner for club and country. Marc
Bartra is not developing as once hoped, while the €40m spent on Jeremy Mathieu
and Thomas Vermaelen has unsurprisingly proven to be a complete waste of money.
Indeed,
the injury-prone Belgian has yet to make his debut for the club and will be
lucky to play this season. Far better and cheaper defensive options, such as
Benfica’s Ezequiel Garay, were ignored by much-maligned director of football
Andoni Zubizarreta.
Barcelona
will now have to rely on inadequate defenders for the next 12 months – meaning
natural midfielders like Javier Mascherano and even Sergio Busquets will
continue to deputise in the back four.
The
midfield is declining, too. Xavi turns 35 next month and is on his last legs,
while Andres Iniesta is naturally not as dynamic as he once was. Ivan Rakitic
is a good player, but he is no Xavi or Iniesta and is certainly no match for
the world-class midfielders at Madrid, Bayern Munich or Chelsea. Barcelona will
be unable to improve this area in 2015, and may even have to bring back another
flop, Alex Song, from his loan spell at West Ham for cover.
Barcelona must regret the decision to
offload Cesc Fabregas. The Spaniard has been a revelation at Chelsea alongside
Nemanja Matic – assisting more goals than any Premier League player this season
– and his sale perfectly exemplifies how badly Barcelona dealt in the summer.
Zubizarreta,
although he didn't have full control of every transfer, knew that he had to
prepare for the possibility of a two-window ban but the €157m budget was poorly
used. Only Barcelona’s attack – boasting Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Neymar,
Pedro and Munir - has the quality and quantity to weather the storm until the
transfer ban ends.
Barcelona
will be able to buy players again in the winter window of 2016, but it is
almost always impossible to make any significant signings in January. Thus, the
Catalans can not only virtually write off this season, but also next term too.
Realistically, it will not be until 2017 that they can aim to again challenge
for La Liga or the Champions League.
By
then, Madrid will have had two extra transfer windows to further improve an
already frightening team, while Barcelona will be adapting to a squad forced
into wholesale changes in the summer of 2016. It is going to be one hell of a
New Year's Eve party in Madrid on Wednesday night.
