The German's enforced exit proves that the Blaugrana remain beset by financial problems – four years after Josep Maria Bartomeu's resignation

Joan Laporta claimed in February of this year, "If we meet the budget, the darkest era in FC Barcelona's history will be over." Just over two months ago, he revealed that the "financial transition", from the edge of bankruptcy to economic stability, was "getting closer and closer".

Alluding to the mess he inherited from his disgraced predecessor, Josep Maria Bartomeu, Laporta said, "The culers (Barca fans) have been patient and we are working to turn the situation around from the one we found when we came to the presidency (in March 2021). The balance sheet this season will be positive and I hope soon we can be '1:1' (the Liga regulation that allows a member club to invest as much money in transfers as it generates in revenue).

"I am an optimist and a realist, and I know what I am talking about. We have grown in terms of income and we have reduced expenses, and we are in a situation in which we are about to resolve the Financial Fair Play (FFP) issues from last season."

Many Barca fans are beginning to wonder, though, if Laporta really does know what he's talking about, because just nine days before the close of the transfer window, the club is still not in a position to register star summer-signing Dani Olmo.

Consequently, Barca are once again scrambling around at the tail end of August, trying to either sell players or remove high-earners from the wage bill just to make ends meet. At the time of writing, Ilkay Gundogan – who only arrived in Catalunya last summer and was one of the Blaugrana's best players last season – is being pushed out the door, which only begs the question: Are Barcelona really making any progress under Laporta – or simply back to square one?

GettyPerfect match

Just like everyone else in football, Gundogan was aware of Barcelona's financial problems when he signed for the club on a free transfer last summer. He'd come close to joining twice before, but now, it seemed, the timing was right. He'd just brought the curtain down on his Manchester City career in the best possible fashion, by leading Pep Guardiola's side to a historic treble, and was looking for a new challenge.

In Barcelona, he couldn't have wished for a better option. The Catalan club represented the realisation of a dream. He'd grown up watching Xavi running the "best midfield in the world" – now he'd have the chance to play under the Spanish legend.

Crucially, Xavi was just as keen to have Gundogan on board. He was the first player that he requested Laporta sign last summer. Far more importantly, though, the pair just clicked from their very first conversation.

"Xavi made his ideas of how the team wants to play very clear," Gundogan explained. "It's very similar to how we played in Man City. It's a similar school, Guardiola, Xavi… But in the way he approached the talks, with his honesty, I also saw sort of my own character reflected in him."

That shared trait served neither man well, though, at a club that seemingly has little interest in facing up to the full extent of its problems on and off the field.

AdvertisementGetty Images'Didn't come here to lose these games'

Gundogan had turned down far more lucrative offers from elsewhere to join Barca, having been swayed not solely by Xavi but also by memories of growing up watching Ronaldinho wowing Camp Nou with his still-unrivalled box of tricks. However, he quickly came to realise that the old image of Barca as '' no longer holds true. According to reports in Spain, he and his wife Sara felt "abandoned" by Barca as they attempted to settle in the city – which eventually led to an apology from the club.

Of far greater concern to Gundogan, though, was the character of his colleagues. This was a man who had become renowned and revered at one of the greatest club sides the game has ever seen for repeatedly stepping up to the mark when his team needed him most. Gundogan wasn't just a serial winner – he was a big-game player that turned into "prime Zinedine Zidane" at the business end of every season.

So, it came as no surprise to see him score six minutes into his first competitive Clasico, last October. However, what came as a serious shock to Gundogan was his team-mates' reaction to Barca going on to lose the game 2-1, after conceding an injury-time winner to Jude Bellingham.

"I have just come to the dressing room," Gundogan said in a post-match interview with , "and, obviously, players are disappointed after such a big game, such an important game and such an unthinkable result, but I would like to see more anger, more disappointment.

"This is part of the problem: you have to express more emotions when you lose and when you know you can play better. You have to do better in certain situations but we don't react. I didn't come here to lose these kinds of games. I also have a responsibility as a senior player not to allow these things to happen to the team, because we need to hang in there more."

Barca defender Inigo Martinez dismissed the significance of Gundogan's criticism, arguing that sometimes players say things that they don't mean "in the heat of the moment". But Gundogan meant every word – and he repeated many of them after Barcelona capitulated in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final loss to Paris Saint-Germain.

Once again he expressed his bitter frustration at the lack of "anger" after such an avoidable defeat and even called out Ronald Araujo for stupidly getting himself sent off at a crucial juncture in the contest – which didn't go over well with the Uruguayan.

Again, though, that's part of the problem at Barca these days. There's a fragility about the team and indeed the club that means they find it difficult to deal with home truths.

Getty Images'Stability and time'

It's certainly no coincidence that a clearly upset Laporta decided against travelling with the team for the Liga clash with Almeria on May 16 – just a day after Xavi had openly discussed the club's financial problems.

"The cule must understand that the situation is very complicated to compete economically," he told reporters. "It has nothing to do with what we had 25 years ago when the coach would come and say 'I want this player, this one, and this one.' It doesn't work like that anymore. I understand that and we're going to adjust to [the situation]. That doesn't mean we're not going to compete. We need stability and time."

Barca have little of either. Laporta formally sacked Xavi less than two weeks later, and in the most disrespectful and farcical fashion imaginable, creating even more chaos at the club. And while their 2024-25 Liga campaign kicked off with a win in Valencia on Saturday, Barca's financial situation remains as uncertain as it is unresolved.

Indeed, it's telling that several top Catalan journalists – some of whom are Barca fans – are losing faith in the current administration, given the Blaugrana find themselves cash-strapped and in registration mess for the second summer in a row.

GettyRidiculous recruitment

The hope remains that Olmo will be registered before deadline day, but that most likely depends on allowing Gundogan, who still has two years left on his contract, to leave for nothing just to create room on the wage bill.

Some have argued that Olmo's arrival means the 33-year-old Gundogan is no longer required, particularly as doubts have been raised over his suitability to the pressing game new coach Hansi Flick is hoping to implement. However, whatever way Laporta and his supporters try to spin it, Gundogan's enforced exit is a damning indictment of the club's ridiculous recruitment policy and only serves to highlight their ongoing inability to balance the books.

It's certainly hard to have much faith in Barca's bid to buy and sell their way out of trouble when one considers that of the seven players signed across 2023 – Gundogan, Julian Araujo, Vitor Roque, Oriol Romeu, Joao Felix, Joao Cancelo and Inigo Martinez – only the latter is likely to still be at the club come the close of the current transfer window.

It is Gundogan's exit that really grates, though. For starters, he remains one of the best attacking midfielders in the game, as underlined by the fact that only Bruno Fernandes created more chances than Gundogan across Europe's 'Big Five' leagues last season. He contributed 13 assists – the biggest haul at Barca – and was also directly involved in more goals (19) than in his final, treble-winning campaign at City (18), suggesting he still has at least another couple of big seasons left in him.

He'll be missed just as much for his character as his quality, though.