Who is Barcelona’s Worst Player of the Season so far?
Martin Macdonald
- 31 Dec 2021 13:46 GMT
- 3 min read
Barcelona are going through a torrid time both on and off the pitch.
The Blaugrana are over €1.3 billion in debt - even if they somehow recently managed to purchase Ferran Torres from Manchester City.
On the pitch, they are a shadow of their former selves, and although Xavi may have brought back a bit of a feel-good factor following the tumultuous tenure of Ronald Koeman, they are seventh in La Liga.
They are 18 points adrift of arch-rivals Real Madrid in top spot, and face a huge battle just to qualify for the Champions League.
Speaking of the Champions League, they failed to qualify from the group stage for the first time in 18 years.
TRENDING
Several players could have made our list of the worst this season, but here are three of their most disappointing performers in 2021/22.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen
Marc-Andre ter Stegen has been fortunate that his team-mates outfield have taken the majority of the criticism over the past 18 months as his own form has dipped to the point where Barca should consider selling him if it meant making some money.
Once considered an unsellable, untouchable player at the club, his stock has fallen dramatically, with his abject performances happening in conjunction with Barca's overall downfall.
Yes, Ter Stegen has had a poor defence in front of him for a long time now, but he is still prone to a mistake
Just look at Leroy Sane's long-range strike that flew past him in the Champions League - it was a very odd attempted save, and it wasn't a one-off.
Eric Garcia
Another one of Barcelona's supposed prodigal sons returned to the club this summer as Eric Garcia was brought in from Manchester City.
Having been a product of La Masia previously, the feeling was that Garcia would seamlessly come into the team without a great deal of adapting time required.
However, he has been very, very poor since his arrival and looks completely out of his depth.
Garcia isn't just a weak defender, but he isn't particularly good in possession either.
He has received five yellow cards and been sent off twice already in just 16 starts in all competitions - opposition players regularly target him with runs and balls in behind.
Garcia was recently given a run-out at right-back by Xavi, but he was just as bad in that role.
Sergino Dest
The Catalan giants signed Dest from Ajax for a fee believed to be in the region of €21m plus €5m in add-ons two summers ago.
The club are still yet to find a true replacement for Dani Alves, with the likes of Aleix Vidal, Sergi Roberto and Nelson Semedo all featuring at right-back to varying degrees of success.
Dest doesn't appear to be greatly valued by Xavi as the Barca coach has recently brought back 38-year-old Dani Alves back to the club to provide competition at right-back.
The fact that Alves usurping Dest to right-back is even being mentioned is embarrassing for the American.
Dest is not a bad footballer, but seems to be struggling to adapt to Barcelona's style of football, which will only become more and more prominent under Xavi.
