Sanllehi led that deal, and lots of other deals where they overpaid. Barcelona’s purchasing history over the past 10 years, including under Guardiola has not been brilliant. They are another club that has gone for a strategy of volume and paying over the odds, thus appearing to be successful. Key has been the La Masia pipeline core obscuring this.
I was livid when the combination of this culture of overpaying and the additional Neymar pressure led to the Coutinho deal. And all its done for Liverpool. Especially since Arthur, who cost a third of him, has just been such a joy to watch. (And even that was a relatively big fee).
