Soccer Champions League

Barcelona Transfer Ban Essentially the Death Penalty

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By @NickBurgess92

Barcelona

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Barcelona could be in big, big trouble. After having their appeal denied after violating a FIFA code of conduct, Barcelona cannot participate in transfer activities until January of 2016.

This amount of time between the ban and their eligibility to participate in transfer activities may spell a period of loss and disappointment for the Blaugrana. Akin to the NCAA death penalty in which those schools affected generally never recover, Barcelona are in a better position than that. Their infrastructure can maintain the club, but not advance it to catch the other clubs in Europe that will inevitably overtake them in the next few years.

Yes, they have Lionel Messi and Neymar. And yes, they do have great young players coming through the system, but they also have needs that they will not likely fill by 2016 just through La Masia. For instance, Gerard Pique is aging and may not be around for too much longer. Combine this with Javier Mascherano, who is played out of position in the back four, and an injury-prone Thomas Vermaelen and they are running really thin at the back.

In addition, they need cover for their players, which they really don’t have considering how many matches the club plays every season. In all competitions, Barcelona play over 70 matches per season if they make it to the later stages of each competition they’re involved in, and with their talent, you can expect to see them in the finals of almost everything but the Champions League.

The main concern will be, though, can they catch Real Madrid? Without transfers, no they can’t. After Madrid completely outclassed them in the last Clasico, Barcelona will hope to improve, but without being able to buy better players, expect them to be second best for the next several seasons.

Nick Burgess is a soccer columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickBurgess92, “Like” him on Facebook and connect with him on Google.

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