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In the corridors of the Camp Nou, the word “crisis” is one often heard, and almost always exaggerated. Three successive defeats in April – Crisis. Rumours of Neymar considering his future – Crisis. Lionel Messi’s seemingly neverending court case – Crisis. This summer, there may really be cause for concern as an already wobbly defence has been seriously depleted in what will most likely represent Luis Enrique’s biggest challenge since taking over as manager at Barcelona.
With Dani Alves’ departure confirmed, having signed for Juventus, Marc Bartra already having left for Borussia Dortmund, and various rumours regarding the futures of Jeremy Mathieu, and , it is far from inconceivable that Barcelona could lose several key defenders in one transfer window.
Sporting director Robert Fernandez has that the club will not be looking for a replacement for Alves, instead placing trust in last summer’s so far disappointing signing, Aleix Vidal, and versatile midfielder Sergi Roberto. Although, remain that the Catalan club could be looking to bring back Arsenal’s Héctor Bellerin.
Elsewhere in defence, Lyon’s Samuel Umtiti is set to join for £20.5 million after France’s exit from Euro 2016. Still, the club would remain in a position where they have seemingly not strengthened a key area which they wish to improve this summer. With Umtiti a replacement for Bartra, and only arguably an improvement, their defensive business seems far from over.
However, Robert and Barcelona have been busier than ever fighting for their key defensive target, though unusually for such a big club, it is in retaining one of their own. Signed from Liverpool for €24 million in the summer of 2010, Javier Mascherano was a key part of Pep Guardiola’s final years in the Camp Nou dugout. The Argentine was soon converted from a holding midfielder into a make-do centre-back alongside Gerard Pique in the absence of Carles Puyol due to injury, and he never looked back.
247 appearances and 16 major trophies later, el jefecito (“the little boss” as he is known by Barcelona fans) is to be considering his future for the first time. With former team-mate and Barcelona hero Dani Alves reportedly putting pressure on him to follow his footsteps to Turin to join Juventus, Mascherano’s future has become one of this summer’s most intriguing transfer sagas.
With a contract running until 2018 and a buy-out clause of €100 million, that would be no easy task, but with Claudio Marchisio out until the new year, the Italian champions see him as the perfect replacement.
The quality of Mascherano means that Robert Fernandez has spent much of this summer around the US in an attempt to convince him to stay at the Spanish champions. His calmness on the ball is perfect for the Barcelona style of playing out from the back, whilst aided by his experience and leadership which has proven vital in not only stabilising the sometimes error-prone Gerard Pique, and helping to transform his defensive partner into one of the best in the world.
It speaks volumes that the signings of Mathieu and Vermaelan were; at the time, . The former Liverpool destroyer was heading into his 30s at the time they joined, and provide solid options for the left hand side of central defence. Nevertheless, Mascherano has riven above this challenge and remains one of the first choice centre-back pairing under Luis Enrique.
Committed, and not afraid to take one for the team, as his red card in the Copa del Rey final against Sevilla showed, Mascherano has become one of the leaders of this Barcelona side, resulting in him being chosen as the fourth choice captain, a prestigious role at Barcelona, and the only one of the four named captains not to have come through the club’s famous La Masia youth set-up.
Whilst he has now earned the unwanted record of the outfield Barcelona player with the highest number of appearances without scoring, and his height has left them vulnerable at set pieces and against some target men strikers at times, Mascherano’s importance to one of the world’s best sides is undoubted.
With a defence set to go through some substantial changes, the leadership of the Argentine will be more vital than ever. As the club continue to deny that he will be allowed to leave in the next couple of months, the little man may have no choice. With a departure next summer seemingly inevitable, Barcelona will be hoping to get one last season out of him in the ‘azulgrana’ colours to ensure that they can return to defend their titles in La Liga and the Copa del Rey.
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