Things could not get any better for Real Madrid right now. Their victory over San Lorenzo in the Club World Cup final 10 days ago was their fourth trophy in 2014, adding to the Copa del Rey, Uefa Super Cup and, of course, the fabled 10th Champions League crown. They are top of La Liga with a game in hand, setting all kinds of records at home and abroad, and Cristiano Ronaldo is almost certain to retain the Ballon d’Or.
And to complete an almost perfect year – bitter rivals Barcelona will now definitively be unable to sign any more players until January 2016.
On Tuesday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected Barca’s appeal against a two-window transfer ban, after the Catalans had been found guilty by Fifa of signing underage overseas players.
"CAS has dismissed the appeal filed by FC Barcelona against Fifa regarding the decision issued by the Fifa Appeals Committee on August 19, 2014," said a CAS statement.
"The panel found in particular that FC Barcelona had breached the rules regarding the protection of minors and the registration of minors attending football academies ... Accordingly, the Fifa decision is confirmed in full and the sanction remains in force."
Tuesday’s news is a hammer blow to Barcelona and will allow Madrid to further increase the widening gap between the two Clasico clubs.
The Blaugrana’s squad already has a number of gaping holes in it. Despite conceding just seven goals in 16 La Liga games this term, the defence showed in the 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid and 3-2 loss at Paris Saint-Germain that it is not strong enough in the elite matches that now define modern football and decide trophies.
All three right-back options are insufficient. Douglas was barely an above-average full back at Sao Paolo before moving to Spain, while both Martin Montoya and Dani Alves had been expected to leave – with the latter’s contract expiring in the summer. However, Barca will now be forced to retain at least one of those two players – probably the ex-Sevilla man, who is clearly past his best.
At centre-back, Gerard Pique may be only 27 but he seems unlikely to ever return to the levels he reached as Carles Puyol’s partner for club and country. Marc Bartra is not developing as once hoped, while the €40m spent on Jeremy Mathieu and Thomas Vermaelen has unsurprisingly proven to be a complete waste of money.
Indeed, the injury-prone Belgian has yet to make his debut for the club and will be lucky to play this season. Far better and cheaper defensive options, such as Benfica’s Ezequiel Garay, were ignored by much-maligned director of football Andoni Zubizarreta.
Barcelona will now have to rely on inadequate defenders for the next 12 months – meaning natural midfielders like Javier Mascherano and even Sergio Busquets will continue to deputise in the back four.
The midfield is declining, too. Xavi turns 35 next month and is on his last legs, while Andres Iniesta is naturally not as dynamic as he once was. Ivan Rakitic is a good player, but he is no Xavi or Iniesta and is certainly no match for the world-class midfielders at Madrid, Bayern Munich or Chelsea. Barcelona will be unable to improve this area in 2015, and may even have to bring back another flop, Alex Song, from his loan spell at West Ham for cover.
Barcelona must regret the decision to offload Cesc Fabregas. The Spaniard has been a revelation at Chelsea alongside Nemanja Matic – assisting more goals than any Premier League player this season – and his sale perfectly exemplifies how badly Barcelona bought in the summer.
Zubizarreta, although he didn't have full control of every transfer, knew that he had to prepare for the possibility of a two-window ban but the €157m budget was poorly used. Only Barcelona’s attack – boasting Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Neymar, Pedro and Munir - has the quality and quantity to weather the storm until the transfer ban ends.
Barcelona will be able to buy players again in the winter window of 2016, but it is almost always impossible to make any significant signings in January. Thus, the Catalans can not only virtually write off this season, but also next term too. Realistically, it will not be until 2017 that they can aim to again challenge for La Liga or the Champions League.
By then, Madrid will have had two extra transfer windows to further improve an already frightening team, while Barcelona will be adapting to a squad forced into wholesale changes in the summer of 2016. It is going to be one hell of a New Year's Eve party in Madrid on Wednesday night.
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