Barcelona Sporting Director Deco arrived at the club last summer with plenty of scepticism, and now that scepticism has spread internally in Can Barca. In his first job as a sporting director, Deco’s earlier work has not impressed.
Of the summer signings last season, Ilkay Gundogan and Inigo Martinez were already signed by the time Deco began working, while Oriol Romeu was a special request from manager Xavi Hernandez.
However Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix were loan deals that Deco prioritised, and neither have impressed. Cancelo for the most part has performed well this season and Xavi has always used him as a starter. He has exhibited his offensive talents with four goals and four assists, but two mistakes against Paris Saint-Germain and three against Real Madrid – playing a role in 5 of the 7 goals Barcelona conceded – saw mistakes from the Portuguese. Those in turn had a hand in the effective end of Barcelona’s season.
🚨 The club has offered Rafa Márquez a 1-year contract extension. The club is highly satisfied with him and wishes for him to continue developing as a potential future manager of the first team. @bonagerman pic.twitter.com/1F7TDXf5pk
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) April 24, 2024
Meanwhile Joao Felix, his compatriot, has had a less than impressive campaign. Excepting performances against Real Betis, Royal Antwerp and Atletico Madrid, Felix has largely gone missing this season, and was relegated to a bench role in January by Xavi.
The same month, Vitor Roque arrived in January, six months ahead of time. The 19-year-old Brazilian striker cost the Blaugrana €30m plus €31m during a period of austerity, but has barely featured so far either, making it three signings that have been relatively unimpressive. On the flipside, Deco failed, or opted not to, bring in Martin Zubimendi, Joshua Kimmich or Giovani Lo Celso, who were other requests made by Xavi.
Deco has reportedly been advocating for Barcelona to move on from Xavi this summer, and instead trust Rafael Marquez with the first team job. Diario AS say that he has been losing credit at the club as a result of his work in the market though, and if Xavi does continue, it would be a further blow to his standing in the club, essentially making it clear that his voice carries little weight in the decision-making process. Simultaneously, it would confirm that Laporta has little consideration for anyone’s else’s input.
Of course other major relationship that has been highlighted by Barcelona’s business is with agent Jorge Mendes. Both Cancelo and Felix are clients of his, as are Lamine Yamal and Alejandro Balde, and Laporta’s ties to Mendes are also believed to have played a role in the deals for Barcelona’s loanees. Laporta admitted earlier in the year that he shared a good relationship with Mendes, as does Deco, who started out as a representative in one of his agencies.
