da bet vitoria： Against a backdrop of financial uncertainty, the Blaugrana hierarchy has been undergoing some major surgery in the lead up to the transfer window

da bet sport： In 2021, Barcelona tried everything to re-sign Lionel Messi. They shrunk his salary as much as possible. They asked other senior players to take pay cuts. They even suggested, misguidedly and incorrectly, that he could simply play for free.

Despite all of their attempts, legal and otherwise, Messi walked. He ended up, ill-advisedly, in the clutches of Paris Saint-Germain. Barca, meanwhile, went to work. They fired a flustered Ronald Koeman, gave youngsters a chance, and, uncharacteristically, worked within their financial means to steady a side that was tumbling down La Liga.

That, of course, was never going to be enough. Barcelona had a famously turbulent transfer window, with president Joan Laporta bending the concepts of club financing and sensible sponsorship to reassemble his squad.

But the brain trust who masterminded the signings of Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Jules Kounde — the pieces that effectively made Barca a title-winning team this season — is falling apart. Sporting director Jordi Cruyff has left, while director of football Mateu Alemany has returned after handing in his resignation.

Former Portugal, Barca and Chelsea midfielder Deco, now a high-profile agent with little management experience, looks set to be appointed in Cruyff's place. Meanwhile, there are clear signs of disagreement as to who, exactly, the club need to sign this summer.

These recent incomings and outgoings, the constant movement in an already turbulent club, points towards a hectic few months. An institution is splitting right before a transfer window it has to get absolutely right.

Getty ImagesThe Alemany problem

Alemany wanted out. If rumours are to be believed, he’d wanted to leave for a while. Barca's director of football had been flirting with Aston Villa for a few months, with the English club dangling Unai Emery's expanding project under his increasingly curious nose. But for weeks, he’d rejected their advances. After all, the Spaniard had taken on the impossible task of resurrecting Barcelona in the post-Messi apocalyptic era, developing a dystopian landscape and turning it into the site of the 2023 La Liga winners.

But he was ready to leave that behind. Villa’s most recent offer, pitched in early May, was too tempting. He announced his intent to leave the club in an unceremonious fashion, with a brief press release. However, he pledged to complete all of Barca's summer transfer business, even that which took place after he had officially left. Such a promise raised a few eyebrows. After all, why would a soon-to-leave executive, soon-to-be-employed by another team, agree to do the bulk of his yearly work for his former employers?

It looked an awful lot like someone keeping their foot in the door, or perhaps writing down a password or two on the way out — just in case. And it was swiftly revealed why: Alemany retracted his intention to depart last week. His rationale?

“I’m very clear my place is at Barca, the best club in the world. I’m totally committed to helping this project, which has taken a very important step,’ he said. “Aston Villa has an impressive project and one of the best coaches in Europe, but after personal reflection, this is where I want to be.”

AdvertisementGettyThe Cruyff departure

A few days before Alemany's U-turn, another top-level member of the Barcelona hierarchy, Cruyff, also announced his departure. His leaving was perhaps even more unexpected. Cruyff was raised on the club of his father, his Catalonian first name regarded as a show of good faith to the city. In the eyes of many, he was a Cule from birth. For two years, Cruyff was Alemany’s right-hand man, the second part of a canny duo entrusted with reshaping Barcelona. It appeared to be a dream job.

But Cruyff left the sentiment all of that, and opted to see out his contract with the intention of “pursuing new projects.” The meeting held to confirm his departure was described by the club itself as "emotional", not least because manager Xavi publicly called on Cruyff to stay.

And it was shortly after Cruyff left that Alemany pledged he would return. Reports have suggested that the two incidents are entirely unrelated. asserted that Cruyff simply believed that his time in the Catalan capital was done, while Alemany felt misled by Villa’s project.

Perhaps that is the truth, but the fact that Alemany was so eager to return once Cruyff had signed off for good suggests that more might be at play.

Imago ImagesRecruiting disagreements

Perhaps there is conflict between the two. Cruyff, for his part, has always been something of a financial realist. He pointed out in November of last year that Messi and Barcelona should reignite their relationship with a "final hug" after the Argentine retires, and has consistently played down the possibility of his signing this summer.

But if his quotes are to be taken as fact — which has historically been a risk at Camp Nou — he is not the sole Messi-skeptic in the club. Laporta has always vouched for the return of Messi.

To the club president, Messi is a crucial signing for footballing, marketing, and sentimental reasons. It’s a policy that Xavi has expressed his support for, repeatedly affirming that Messi belongs at his boyhood club.

Alemany, though, isn’t quite as convinced. After all, this is an executive whose success in the role was measured off his ability to piece together a Messi-less Barcelona. The very absence of the Argentine from the club is why the now-remaining director of football earned such high praise from his employers. Unlike Laporta and Xavi, he has been noncommittal about Messi. He operates in maybes and uncertainties. “We’ll see” is a fundamental part of Alemany's lexicon at this point.

The disagreement between the two parties seems ominous ahead of the summer where Barcelona are not only expected to pursue Messi, but also potentially axe a number of senior players in order to afford him. The project that Alemany built could be picked apart due to a policy he is fundamentally at odds with.

There are other smaller recruitment issues here, too, specifically at other positions. Laporta covets Wolves captain Ruben Neves to replace the outgoing Sergio Busquets. Xavi, for his part, has insisted that Neves is not the No.6, or ‘pivot’, that the Blaugrana need. He has publicly praised Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi, a breakout defensive midfielder of a similar profile to Barcelona’s departing captain.

Getty ImagesDeco and Raphinha

Barcelona have been told, in no uncertain terms, that they will have to slash their budget in order to piece together the big summer they covet. La Liga president Javier Tebas estimates that the Blaugrana needed to get rid of €200 million (£176m/$215m) to even afford to register the three players recently signed to long-term contracts.

That presents a problem. €200m, it turns out, is not so easily found — especially for a club with no obvious expendable assets in the transfer market. Raphinha, though, is one that could be moved. The Brazil winger has endured a mixed first season at Camp Nou, not exactly delivering on the €65m(£55m/$65m) the Blaugrana paid for him last summer. Although his 14 goal involvements seem impressive, he has consistently drawn frustrated looks and flailing of arms from indignant team-mates for his all-too-common poor decisions.

But at 26, and with an impressive goalscoring record and game-changing dribbling ability, Raphinha could be an excellent signing for a team in need of a right-winger. It is not impossible to see Barca get north of €70m for him, either.

It is, in effect, a priority sale, and perhaps an easy business decision. However, it will be made more complicated by the fact that the Spanish champions are reportedly on the verge of hiring Deco as a replacement for Cruyff. The Portuguese has spent his post-playing career setting up an agency, and Raphinha is one of his clients. It was his diligence that ensured that Raphinha would end up at Camp Nou — despite interest from elsewhere.

For Barcelona, this surely presents a problem. Hiring the agent of your most valuable asset, a player that needs to be sold to ensure the financial stability of the club, seems like a disaster waiting to happen.