FC Barcelona: A tale of two very different teams

In contrast, the Barcelona women's team, known as Barcelona Femeni, is well on the way to their third consecutive league title. After 17 wins from 17 league games, they were crowned winners of the Spanish Supercup last weekend, beating Atletico Madrid 7-0.

But it hasn't always been this way. The men's side won more LaLiga's than any other Spanish team this century, a spell of unprecedented success. In the golden years under manager Pep Guardiola and with the help of Lionel Messi, the Catalans dominated both domestically and internationally. In nine years, the La Masia Academy produced a never-ending stream of extraordinary players instilled with the 'tiki-taka' style, which helped them capture four Champions Leagues titles.

Things began to unravel when PSG signed Neymar for 222 million euros, a record fee that signified a power shift in European football. If they had invested wisely, this would not have been a problem. However, the club spent over 400 million euros on Philippe Coutinho, Ousmane Dembele, and Antoine Griezmann. Few would say these signings offered value for money.

Barcelona's exit from the Champions League ended a 17-year run, showing that even with the world's best player in Lionel Messi, the club could no longer compete at the highest level.

When the pandemic hit the club in March 2020, the players were asked to take a 70% pay cut. After a year and a half, Barcelona could not afford to extend Lionel Messi's contract, bringing an end to his two-decade association with the club.

Rob Palmer, a LaLiga commentator, talked to Football Now about what he believed caused Barcelona's decline.

"You think back to when Pep Guardiola was there, and they could name a team almost entirely of players who came through the