By Boluwatife Ezekiel Olaleye
Barcelona legend Xavi has criticised his former club’s transfer spending, claiming that they have signed players who ‘do not fit their system’.
The Catalan club missed out on arguably their top attacking target in Philippe Coutinho, who was denied his dream move to Camp Nou by Liverpool in the latter stages of the window.
Barca did manage to bring in talented wideman Ousmane Dembele from Borussia Dortmund, however, while Paulinho, Nelson Semedo and Gerard Deulofeu have also been recruited.
Xavi has questioned the quality of the new recruits, though, claiming that only half the current squad is suited to the famed ‘Barcelona Way’.
“I was part of an era that was so impressive that it now seems as if it’s not the same club,” he told Marca. “They play football well, but they could have signed better.
“They have fallen asleep because five or six years ago they had the best players in the world for the Barcelona system. Now they have five or six players for it, in [Andres] Iniesta, [Jordi] Alba, [Lionel] Messi, [Gerard] Pique, Luis Suarez and [Sergio] Busquets.
“Yet Barcelona should have 11 players who fit the system. You never used to say ‘this player would fit in well at Barcelona’ because all those players were already there. They have signed players who do not fit the system.”
Barcelona also waved goodbye to superstar forward Neymar this summer after Paris Saint-Germain triggered his £198m release clause.