It is August 2018; the new season is about to start. A pre-season game against Boca Junior awaits. Lionel Messi, the club captain, steps on to the home pitch of Barcelona’s home ground, Nou Camp, and starts with a speech. He ends the speech with a promise- to end the domination of Real Madrid in the Champions League, to forget the horrors of that night in Rome, and to bring the giant trophy back home to the Nou Camp.
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Barcelona still without a Champions League Trophy
Yet, as we fast forward nine months to today, we find that Barcelona is still without a Champions League trophy. And forget about burying the horrors of the Roma defeat, they have a newer, even graver one to contend with- the catastrophic collapse against Liverpool.
All eyes and fingers now point towards Barcelona’s most expensive player, Coutinho. The former Liverpool man has been, to be blunt, a flop. His alternative for the left wing, Dembele, shows promise but is often out injured. And with Suarez aging, and a hole left to be filled on the left wing, it seems as if Barcelona are going to turn to a familiar face- Neymar.
In fact, the buzz is about a swap deal, between Neymar and Dembele. Dembele, a Frenchman, is reportedly keen on moving back to his country and working with his international teammate Kylian Mbappe.
Barca can win Champions League once again
As for Neymar, the lure to Barca remains. Having spent two years at PSG and failed to even move beyond the round of 16 stages, it is perhaps time to leave the untested waters and move to Barca and help them and Messi get their hands on a European Cup once again.
If Neymar were to come, it would be the reunion of the famous MSN trio that terrorized defenders 3 years ago. And behind them, with a young and dynamic midfield of Busquets, Arthur, and De Jong, perhaps Barca can once again fancy their chances in the Champions League.
