If every football transfer deadline day had played out in a physical market, one would notice distinct characters caught in the mad rush to complete deals before the window slammed shut. There are the panic buyers, the freeloaders, the content-with-my-lot window shoppers, the loaners... and then, there’s Football Club Barcelona in 2022.
On the final day of the recent summer transfer window, Barcelona was the trader that wheeled in a cart filled with shiny merchandise in a desperate attempt to offload some quality wares at any cost, to balance the books after months of burning cash in the market – cash that they apparently do not have.
It is not uncommon for European football clubs to send off players towards the end of a transfer window. In fact, Paris St. Germain, another big-spending club, also went about offloading dead weight on deadline day. But, Barcelona’s activity was noteworthy, because of the crises this highly successful club has gotten into.
