What a complete mess.
Whilst other clubs may seem to be a perennial state of drama and distress *cough* Arsenal *cough*, no one can compare to FC Barcelona for sheer incompetence and disarray at present. To witness one of the greatest and most popular sporting institutes in the world, with the finest footballer of all time, in such chaos is half way between comedy and tragedy.
The constant string of false notes, mistaken hubris, failed negotiations and misguided decisions is seemingly non-stop, and so it's sometimes difficult to keep up. But in an effort to lay out the full extent of mismanagement, and perhaps to take stock himself, one of the most revered and informed Spanish football experts out there has summed it up for us.
Sid Lowe is widely accepted as a reliable and trusted authority on all things La Liga, especially concerning Real Madrid and Barcelona. His book,
Fear and Loathing in La Liga: Barcelona vs Real Madrid, is an exceptional work and thoroughly informative. Lowe is also part of the superb Spanish Football Podcast alongside housewives' favourite Phil Kitromilides.
On Saturday, Lowe summed up the hot mess that is Barca in a collection of tweets that makes depressing and often farcical reading:
https://twitter.com/sidlowe/status/903899712692133888
https://twitter.com/sidlowe/status/903899879306616832
https://twitter.com/sidlowe/status/903900240910192640
https://twitter.com/sidlowe/status/903900588290826240
https://twitter.com/sidlowe/status/903900813533343744
https://twitter.com/sidlowe/status/903900915144544257
https://twitter.com/sidlowe/status/903901043750260736
https://twitter.com/sidlowe/status/903901201934245888
https://twitter.com/sidlowe/status/903901326664491008
https://twitter.com/sidlowe/status/903901477219033088
https://twitter.com/sidlowe/status/903901561881059329
https://twitter.com/sidlowe/status/903901848393969668
https://twitter.com/sidlowe/status/903902070708850689
https://twitter.com/sidlowe/status/903902239420493824
https://twitter.com/sidlowe/status/903902408945827841
https://twitter.com/sidlowe/status/903902977538347009
https://twitter.com/sidlowe/status/903903193662410753
https://twitter.com/sidlowe/status/903903517437566976
https://twitter.com/sidlowe/status/903904565367631872
https://twitter.com/sidlowe/status/903905261450125312
https://twitter.com/sidlowe/status/903905349954129921
