The Spanish league lost significant value with the departure of Leo Messi, but apart from the flea departure there was no lack of interest and surprises in closing the transfer window, when Barça once again gave the championship rival, Atletico, an important player like Antoine Griezmann not to pay him an inflated salary.
Where there were no surprises it was in Killian Ambape's cut.
The French star has done almost everything to break free from PSG's' golden cage to inaugurate the new Santiago Bernabeu, even a slew of stunning contract renewal offers in Paris.
The goal of the club / country where money is not a factor is that Ambape will play this year with Leo Messi and Neymar so that they can finally win the champions, while continuing with new attempts to persuade him to continue with even a higher salary than the Argentine.
Killian Ambape and Leo Messi, Photo: AFP,
Just to prevent that Florentino Perez, embarked on an economic adventure not suitable for his name as a successful businessman and offered 200 million euros to the French to bring in a player who in a year could come for free.
In the media in Madrid the optimism was excessive.
What worked with Juventus and Zinedine Zidane, or with Brazilian Inter and Ronaldo, did not work against a club belonging to Qatar, which was unwilling to absorb "humiliation".
The Emir of Qatar has not even responded to Real's offers, and since the French league and UEFA allow PSG to break the rules of fair play, Peres will have to wait another year.
Laporta woke up late
Real have a less good team than last season, and fans are very disappointed that Ambape's dream has not yet come true, but they can take comfort in looking at what is happening in Barcelona.
The severe economic crisis is leading the Catalans to make decisions that are professionally angled.
President Laporta did not fight until the last minute to keep Messi, and waited until the last minute to loan Griezmann to Atletico for 10 million euros now and probably another 40 at the end of the season.
Laporta, Photo: Danny Maron,
This is a deal that everyone is happy about.
Diego Simeone joins the player he so desperately wanted, and Griezmann is overjoyed that he is returning to the club where he became the star and arms of a coach who understands him best.
In the last two years Griezmann has scored 35 goals in 102 games and achieved just one title, but has never proved he is worth the 120 million euros that outgoing Barça president Joseph Bartomeu has paid for him.
Messi's huge shadow was big for him, and in the three games this season without him Griezmann was a shadow of himself.
Barça are also happy that Griezmann did not connect with the fans, and especially that it saves 35 million euros gross annual of his salary.
Without Messi and Griezmann, the team loses enormous offensive power (60 goals together last year), but saves 150 million euros in salaries.
The dessert in Barça's saddest transfer window in recent years is Luc de Jong.
Except for Ronald Koeman who asked for his compatriot, no one understands how Barça are bringing in a striker that no one wanted in Sevilla.
In view of the dismal situation of the Barça box office, the priority is to survive financially.
But the question now is why Laporta did not make all those moves a month ago, and might have managed to keep Messi.
The summer of 2021 marks the difficult period in which Barcelona finds itself, with only young people like Anso Patti giving hope.
Yesterday the boy bravely inherited Messi's number 10 shirt.
The new number of Enso Patti, Photo: EPA,
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