Is La Liga declining? Analysis of some of their best teams to see if La Liga is on the decline.
Hello, I am Jim James and welcome to this article. Today We will be analysing Atlético Madrid, Real Madrid, and Barcelona to see if they’re on the decline.
Why do I say this?
I say this because Atlético Madrid are running away with La Liga, and even though they are having an exceptional season, and Real and Barca are stumbling constantly. This is why I ask – Is La Liga on the decline?
Let’s start with Barcelona.
Issues:
Leo Messi wants to leave and can for free right now.
It is the big one, Leo Messi wants to leave as he is fed up by the board, he was fed up by Bartomeu and is having another beef with Koeman. It is a ticking time bomb waiting to explode whenever it feels need be. Anyone who denies evidence of Messi’s impact just has to look at Sunday’s game vs Betis. When he came on Barca were 1-0 down, less than 10 minutes after he made the appearance he scored the leveller, and had major contributions in the 2nd and 3rd goals to win 3-2. I’ve said it many times, Barca is more reliant on Messi than any club is on any other player in the world. We may be a Europa club if Messi wasn’t here. So yeah, a big issue.
Barca are in over a Billion Euros of Debt
Another huge issue. Barcelona have a huge dilemma, if they declare bankrupt they lose many players or they have to somehow pay off all their debt, which is no easy feat considering the current pandemic. They have millions in unpaid transfer fees, unpaid loans, etc. This is a sticky situation that Barca need to get out of to ever get back to the glory days.
Real Madrid Next.
They too, are in lots of debt
It came out recently that Real Madrid are in tons of debt, and that has slowed their chases for Haaland and Mbappe. That IS a big issue. Zinedine Zidane and Real Madrid also need to fix this, as this is stopping them from getting younger with transfers. This is probably because of their free spending windows in 2018 and 2019, mostly 2019, where combined they spent around 500 million euros and they got back around 300 million.
Sergio Ramos IS NOT signing the extension
Sergio Ramos is being very stubborn and is not signing Real Madrid’s contract extension, leading some to believe that he is leaving for free at the end of the season. This is also alarming as Ramos is Madrid’s key cog to their dealings. Losing him would be like losing Messi for Barca. He truly is that important to them.
Zidane looks like he is leaving at the end of the season – again
Zinedine Zidane looks like he is leaving at the end of the season, again. Considering what happened the first time he left, back in 2018, going from three-peat Champions Leagues to the only piece of relevant silverware they can get their hands on being La Liga last season, It won’t go over well with the fanbase once it actually happens. However they can feel a little better because I predict a repeat of last time, getting a couple of subpar managers only to have Zidane come back sometime in early 2022.
The Squad is ageing
Sergio Ramos, Karim Benzema, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Marcelo, Nacho. Those are just some of the names on Real Madrid who are over the age of 30. Courtois, Casemiro, Hazard, and Carvajal are a year or two away from being 30, even Varane is already 27. This squad is old and they need to sign some youngsters fast. That is tricky considering they are in mountains of debt. The upcoming years won’t be easy for them.
These teams are on the decline, and it won’t be simple for them to get stable. However, I think that they will get back on track soon. La Liga isn’t on the decline, even though the evidence shows otherwise. If Real and Barca have lasted at the top for 92 years, now isn’t the time to have them go. I’m Jim James, and see you soon.