In Cornella de Llobregat, home of Catalan rivals Espanyol, the ‘culés’ leaders (85 points) secured their 27th title of league champions, having escaped since 2017/18, after winning 4-2 on matchday 34, when there were four left to play, and Real Madrid, in second place, can no longer be reached by 14 points.
The ‘Blaugrana’ team, led by Xavi Hernández, 43 years old, a reference of the club, after 17 uninterrupted seasons in the first team, was once again on the road to titles and good performances, something they managed to do without competition until the end. reaches .
Only Real has more Spanish championships than FC Barcelona with 35, now with 27, followed by Atlético (11), Athletic Bilbao (eight), Valencia (six), Real Sociedad (two), Deportivo da Coruña, Sevilla and Betis, all with one.
After watching Madrid clubs celebrate La Liga, Real, in 2019/20 and 2021/22, and Atlético, in 2020/21, ‘Barça’ collected the coveted trophy in the post-Lionel Messi ‘era’ — left to Paris Saint Germain two years ago.
Despite a balanced start against Real, FC Barcelona seized the isolated lead of the championship on matchday 16, on January 8, against a tangential victory in Madrid, at Atlético’s stronghold (1-0), never to drop it again.
The La Liga journey ended in ‘tour mode’ in the second half of the season, losing only twice – in Almería (1-0) and Madrid, at Rayo’s home (2-1) – largely to the ‘unrecognizable’ Real Madrid and the early withdrawal from European competitions.
In the Champions League, he ‘fell’ in the group stage and was relegated to the Europa League, in which he was eventually sidelined by England’s Manchester Untied, while in the King’s Cup, which he last won in 2020/21- age he stayed for the semifinals, at the ‘feet’ of Real Madrid.
Led on the field by Polish top scorer Robert Lewandowski, scorer of 21 goals and six assists in the league, in the first season with the ‘blaugrana’ colors, ‘Barça’ had the crucial help of Raphinha’s youth, Frenchman Dembelé, Gavi and Pedri, combined with the experience of Busquets, who will leave the club at the end of the season, Jordi Alba and Gerard Piqué, who played little, ended his career during the season. In goal, German Marc ter Stegen proved to be an important part of the success, keeping the goal inviolable for several matches.
If within the four lines in the Spanish championship the performance was very convincing, outside FC Barcelona, led by Joan Laporta, after his return to the presidency in March 2021, saw his name involved in a judicial investigation by March 2021. millionaire payments to the former vice-chairman of the Technical Commission of Referees, José María Enríquez Negreira.
The ‘culé’ season was marked by the negative face of the case that arose after an investigation by the Barcelona Public Prosecutor’s Office, which reported that the former head of the Spanish arbitration received almost seven million euros through a company for allegedly advice to the club, between 2001 and 2018.
This case, in which the Catalan club is constantly charged with corporate corruption, will be merged with another, arising from a complaint filed by the former referee and current video referee Estrada Fernández against Negreira and the company Dasnil 95 , for corruption sporting.
According to the Spanish court, Barcelona maintained “a strictly confidential oral agreement” with José Negreira, so that he “carried out actions in exchange for money to favor Barcelona in the decision-making of the referees” in their matches.
More recently, due to the financial problems with the Catalan emblem, Barça TV will close on June 30, which will save about 15 million euros (ME) annually.
Source: DN
