FC Barcelona is without doubt one of the greatest football clubs of all time. As well as being the second most valuable sports team on the globe, Barça are also the most successful club in Spain with 82 titles won throughout their history. The fiercely supported Catalonians are unmatched in individual records with 10 Ballon dOr awards and 7 FIFA World Player of the Year awards held by the club as well as an unrivalled collection of trophies both domestically and internationally. The famed Barcelona Youth Academy La Masia has produced some of the worlds best players including FIFA Ballon dOr record holder Lionel Messi, Barça talisman Xavi and Spains World Cup hero of 2010; Andres Iniesta. Pep Guardiolas Barcelona team (2008 2012) is widely considered to be the greatest club team of all time with an unprecedented 14 titles in four years including becoming the first football club ever to win six out of six competitions in a single year comprising of the La Liga, Copa del Rey, and the Champions League as well as the Spanish Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup. So where has it all gone wrong for the Spanish giants? Barcelona have the money to buy world class stars each year, three of the top ten players in the world in their current squad and an unmatched youth academy which consistently provides first team players but Barça have drastically struggled to hit the heights of seasons gone. The answer is not as straightforward in comparison to Manchester United's decline which can be mostly put down to the retirement of Alex Ferguson. Pep Guardiola was undoubtedly a huge loss for the club but two years have passed and things seem worse than ever. Will we see a rejuvenated Barcelona this season or are they about to free-fall? These are the ten glaring problems that Barcelona must sort out if they are to challenge for the seasons ahead.
Barry O' Halloran has been a whatculture writer for the last two years and having recently graduated, now plans on writing about games & movies until his hands fall off. Follow him on twitter!
