Nine players whose careers have gone downhill since Barcelona

A move to Barcelona can be considered the pinnacle of a footballing career.

However, as some flourish, others falter in the Catalonian capital as the pressure of playing in front of around 99,000 fans becomes too much.

Below is a list of nine players whose careers declined after joining the Blaugrana.

Alex Song

Year signed: 2012

Barcelona appearances: 65

Current club: Sion

A number of fine performances in the Premier League with Arsenal prompted the Barcelona board to make a move for the Cameroonian, signing the midfielder for around £15m in 2012.

During his two-season stint in La Liga, Song struggled to acclimatise to the high-press and passing exploits of the Barca philosophy, resulting in a loan move back to the Premier League with West Ham United under a completely different footballing style with Sam Allardyce.

Under the auspices of “Big Sam” Song quickly adapted, forming an industrious partnership with Mark Noble in the middle of the park, to help the east London club finish in a respectful 12th position in the 2014-15 Premier League season.

A second loan spell at Upton Park followed, but this time his season was hampered by recurring injury problems, and he slowly fell down the pecking order.

Song signed for Swiss side, Sion, in August 2018.

Alen Halilović

Year signed: 2014

Barcelona appearances: 1

Current club: A.C. Milan

Halilović exploded onto the scene with Croatian outfit Dinamo Zagreb, debuting in the club’s “Eternal Derby” victory over fierce rivals Hajduk Split at just 16 – making him the youngest debutant in Zagreb’s history.

This sparked Europe’s elite into action, and Halilović joined the ranks at Barca’s La Masia in 2014.

However, his time in Spain was marred by controversy behind the scenes, including a transfer embargo while his father Saed Halilović was accused of undermining the Barcelona B coach Eusebio.

Halilović did not last long in Catalonia, and not even a loan spell with Sporting de Gijon could save his Barca career, as he moved to the Bundesliga with Hamburger SV, mustering just six appearances last season.

Halilović returned to La Liga in 2017/18 on loan with Las Palmas, with the lively forward managing 20 appearances in the league as La Union Deportiva lost their battle against the drop.

The 22-year-old signed for AC Milan in 2018 but has made just three appearances for the Rossoneri so far.

Dmytro Chygrynskiy

Year signed: 2009

Barcelona appearances: 14

Current club: AEK Athens

A somewhat unorthodox signing for Barcelona at the time, the Ukrainian centre-back joined the Catalan club for around £22m in 2009 from Shakhtar Donetsk.

Despite the guidance of Pep Guardiola, Chygrynskiy failed to adapt to the style and demand required of a Barcelona defender – managing just 10 starts in the league and a further two substitute appearances for the club.

His disappointing season in La Liga saw his old club Shakhtar re-sign the defender the following season for £12m, meaning the Ukrainian club made a profit of around £10m.

Though tenacious in the tackle and imperious in the air, the defender failed to recapture his old form for the Miners, and he made just 52 appearances in all competitions during the five seasons he spent back with the club before leaving by mutual consent in 2015.

An unsuccessful spell with FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk followed, and now the Ukrainian giant plays in Greece with AEK Athens.

Arda Turan

Year signed: 2015

Barcelona appearances: 55

Current club: Istanbul Basaksehir (on loan from Barcelona)

His transfer to Barcelona from Atletico Madrid was certainly not a smooth transition, as the Catalan club were under a transfer embargo at the time, meaning Turan had to wait six months before he could make his debut for the club.

Having forged a reputation as one of Europe’s most complete and polished attacking midfielders under the tutelage of Diego Simeone, the Turkish forward has since fallen short of expectations in the famous red and blue of Barca.

The 31-year-old never managed to cement a starting position in the Barca XI, making only 14 starts in the 2016-17 campaign for Luis Enrique, with a further four appearances coming from the bench.

Turan’s poor form for the club resulted in a move back to his homeland on loan with Turkish outfit Istanbul Basaksehir in the Super Lig, where he originally made a name for himself while playing for Galatasaray.

His current club are the unlikely leaders in Turkey, sitting six points clear of Galatasaray.

Alexander Hleb

Year signed: 2008

Barcelona appearances: 36

Current club: BATE Borisov

Barcelona have made a name for themselves over the years for signing Arsenal players: Cesc Fabregas, Alex Song, Thierry Henry, Thomas Vermaelen and Marc Overmars to name just some – Alexander Hleb is another one of those.

The Belarusian switched allegiances from the Gunners to Barca in 2008 after a number of scintillating performances for Arsene Wenger’s side.

Though a lively lynchpin for Arsenal, Hleb failed to attune himself to the demands of La Liga – and during his four years with the club he managed just 36 appearances in all competitions.

Loan spells with VfB Stuttgart, Birmingham City and VfL Wolfsburg could not save his Barca career, and the Belarusian departed for Russian club Krylia Sovetov Samara in 2012.

Since then Hleb has fallen away from the limelight of Europe’s top five divisions and has turned out for Konyaspor, Gençlerbirliği and BATE Borisov over the years.

Douglas

Year signed: 2014

Barcelona appearances: 8

Current club: Sivasspor (on loan from Barcelona)

With Dani Alves reaching his twilight years, Barcelona were perhaps keeping one eye on the future when they signed his Brazilian compatriot and right-back counterpart Douglas.

At 24, Douglas had never left Brazilian soil, appearing for boyhood club Goias for a number of seasons before moving to Brazil’s most populous city with Sao Paulo.

There, Douglas featured heavily for the club, winning the Copa Sudamericana in 2012 and the Eusebio Cup in 2013, and his outstanding performances saw him follow in the footsteps of so many Brazilian greats over the years by moving to La Liga.

Unfortunately for Douglas, he failed to challenge Alves at right-back, and a loan move – along with teammate Halilovic – to Sporting de Gijon followed in the 2016-17 season, but the pair failed to keep the Rojiblancos in La Liga, and the club were relegated.

The 27-year-old spent last season on loan with Benfica, though he only made five league appearances for the Portuguese club. He is on loan once more, now for Turkish side Sivasspor.

Keirrison

Year signed: 2009

Barcelona appearances: 0

Current club: Londrina

Much to the despair of Keirrison, his name will be forever a mainstay in listicles on Barcelona’s worst-ever signings, such was the expectation of the Brazilian to thrive in the Catalan capital when he joined the club.

He set Brazil’s Serie A alight with his goalscoring prowess and potency in the box with Coritiba and Palmeiras, and when Barca picked up the youngster for £12m, they thought they had secured the bargain of the decade.

With the La Liga club keen to loan the striker out in order to gain valuable experience, a host of European clubs were vying for his signature, and in 2009 he joined Benfica.

With a wealth of competition at the Portuguese club, however, Keirrison struggled to break into the starting XI and featured sporadically under coach Jorge Jesus, resulting in a recall to Barcelona before being loaned out again to Fiorentina.

An unsuccessful loan spell in Serie A followed, and Keirrison would not feature in Europe again, signing for Coritiba in 2014 on a free transfer, while now he plays for Londrina in the second tier of Brazilian football.

Ibrahim Afellay

Year signed: 2011

Barcelona appearances: 35

Current club: Stoke City

Afellay attracted the attention of Barcelona while playing for PSV Eindhoven in the Eredivisie, and after a number of high-profile performances for the Boeren, Pep Guardiola made a move for the midfielder.

During his five seasons at the Camp Nou, the Dutchman could only make 35 appearances in all competitions as loan spells with Schalke 04 and Olympiacos proved unfruitful, after Afellay failed to stake a claim in the Barca XI.

A move to the Premier League followed, and the Utrecht-born midfielder signed with Stoke City. His first season with the Potters was highly successful and the 32-year-old quickly endeared himself to the club’s faithful.

However, Afellay was not been able to replicate his form from that initial campaign, making only a handful of appearances last term.

Last season, the Potters banished the Dutchman from the dressing room, finally ending his Stoke career in January, terminating his contract by mutual consent.

Andre Gomes

Year signed: 2016

Barcelona appearances: 78

Current club: Everton (on loan from Barcelona)

An impressive couple of seasons with Valencia convinced the powers that be to part with an initial fee of £29.3m for Gomes’ services.

The former Benfica academy graduate had the misfortune of joining Barça’s midfield post-Xavi meaning being scrutinised more than he’s ever known.

A small error whilst donning the white of Los Che would immediately be forgotten, but that’s not the case playing for Barcelona and it’s fair to say the Portuguese international hasn’t reached his full potential.

Whether he’s been overawed is a debate for another day, the reality is Gomes has failed to establish himself as a first-team regular, Luis Enrique used the Grijó-born footballer tentatively and the same with his successor Ernesto Valverde.

The arrival of Brazillian, Arthur, saw Gomes slip further down the pecking order, moving to Everton on loan, where he has been a revelation so far at the base of Marco Silva’s midfield.

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