Did Barcelona’s Transfer Window Make Them Better?

Barcelona’s transfer window is officially closed, which means it’s time to assess if Deco and company did their job and made the team better. The surface data is straightforward: $202 (€174) million spent in fixed transfer fees and $121 (€104) million generated in transfer income. That is a negative spend, but the club just announced that it made more than one billion in revenue for the first time in its history.

The other big number of success for the club is the new average age of the squad. It sits at 24.4 years old, making Barça the youngest team in La Liga, ahead of Racing Santander, Málaga, Deportivo La Coruña, and Sevilla.

They added established veterans, promoted young talent, and made several intriguing bets on the future. This was done while still navigating the financial reality that exists in getting back to 1:1 in spending, if only for this summer.

So with all those summer moves, did Barcelona actually get better? Let’s give out the grades for the major moves.

Anthony Gordon – 9/10

Newcastle → Barcelona | $81 (€70) million + $11.5 (€10) million
Gordon is an athletic, aggressive, versatile player whose motor perfectly suits Hansi Flick’s system. The market since the deal has made it look increasingly reasonable. Comparable players commanded enormous fees, and getting the former EPL winger before the World Cup tax pushed up his price was a good piece of business.

Rodri – 9/10

Manchester City → Barcelona | $70 (€60) million + $19 (€16.5) million
If Rodri stays healthy, this could become the signing that defines Barcelona’s season. He was arguably the best player in the world prior to the ACL injury, hence the Ballon d’Or, and he brings a stability that Barça’s midfield has not had since Sergio Busquets. What prevents it from being a 10/10 deal is the fact that he is a 30-year-old with an ACL injury and he is reportedly Barça’s highest paid player.

Karim Adeyemi – 8/10

Borussia Dortmund → Barcelona | $25.5 (€22) million + $8.1 (€7) million + sell-on
The German forward gives the Blaugrana another explosive, versatile attacker who can press aggressively and threaten space behind the defense. Adeyemi was a market opportunity who wasn’t starting regularly at Dortmund and won’t be expected to start regularly in Catalonia either. Barcelona hasn’t been in position to strengthen their depth in years, and this is a good signing that enhances the bench quite a bit.

Gabriel Jesus – 7/10

Arsenal → Barcelona | $11.5 (€10) million + add-ons
There is reason to be hesitant about this signing based on his ACL injury and questions about his finishing. The pay cut he took to join the club, reportedly jumping down to $4.5 (€4) million per season, makes the three year deal a bit more palatable. The question is whether Barcelona will get enough availability and production to justify the move.

Jesse Bisiwu – 8/10

Club Brugge → Barcelona | $10 (€8.5) million + sell-on
The 18-year-old could be worth four times his transfer fee in a season or two, and the rare minutes he’ll get this season as the likely seventh-choice attacker will be valuable for him. While it seems like a risk to splash that cash on a player that never played first team football with Club Brugge, it should be noted that the Belgian club likely chose not to play him because they already knew of his impending exodus.

Hamza Abdelkarim – 9/10

Al Ahly → Barcelona | $1.8 (€1.5) million + add-ons + sell-on
Technically, this deal happened in January, but the transfer fee was paid during the summer window. Quality strikers are difficult to find, so if Barcelona got one for €1.5 million, it’ll be an excellent piece of business.

Dominik Livaković – 9/10

Fenerbahçe → Barcelona | $2.3 (€2) million + $2.3 (€2) million
With the 1:1 likely only being for this summer due to the roof being put on the stadium, upgrading the back-up goalkeeper position for a relatively modest fee now was another savvy market find.

For Barcelona’s transfer exits and other minor moves, check out The Barcelona Podcast:

Overall, the window was an 8/10. Did Barcelona get better? They certainly did. There are still legitimate concerns, including the depth at centre-back and the need for another left-footed partner for Pau Cubarsí. The striker position is the other place of worry. Another elite option to start would have put Culers at ease, but something in most guts know that the Julian Álvarez may not be done just yet. It wasn’t a perfect window, but Deco and company made the squad feel a bit closer to that elusive sixth Champions League. For that reason more than any other, some of these grades could look very different by May.