Ranking Barcelona’s Top 10 Worst Signings After Ousmane Dembele’s Departure

Barcelona has become synonymous with dreadful deals in recent years, and the exit of Ousmane Dembele has added to the list of players who failed to reach their full potential with the Catalan giants.

After six years at Camp Nou, the 26-year-old winger has finally called time on his time with the Catalan giants after sealing a long-term deal with Paris Saint-Germain.

According to Football Espana, Dembele has signed a five-year deal in the French capital as PSG has unveiled the forward after they triggered his private clause, which sat at €50mil.

Dembele has been tagged as one of Barcelona’s worst signings in the club’s history following the winger’s struggles with injuries since he joined the club from Borussia Dortmund in 2017.

Dembele scores wonderful screamer in El Clasico friendly against Real Madrid, video

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Here, Sports Brief, alongside GOAL, looks at Barcelona’s top 10 worst signings of all time following Ousmane Dembele’s departure to PSG.

10. Giovanni

Barcelona has signed numerous fantastic Brazilian forwards over the years. Geovanni, on the other hand, was not one of them.

The Brazilian had a breakout year at Cruzeiro in 2000, and Barcelona beat out Arsenal and Juventus to sign him the following year for €18m - a substantial lot of money at the time.

Geovanni, however, failed miserably to justify his transfer value, scoring only once in 26 La Liga outings over two seasons before joining Benfica on a season-long loan.

9. Alexander Hleb

Alexander Hleb should never have left Arsenal. He was not only an important player of the club, playing some of his finest games of his career, but he also had a close relationship with manager Arsene Wenger.

Hleb did not build the same kind of bond with Pep Guardiola, who had just taken over replacing Frank Rijkaard, the coach who had pushed for the signing of the Belarussian.

Indeed, Hleb made only 19 Liga appearances in his debut season at Barcelona before his contract was mutually terminated in January 2012, following loan spells at Stuttgart, Birmingham City, and Wolfsburg.

8. Dmytro Chygrynskiy

Nobody ever doubted Dmytro Chygrynskiy's ability to make a success of his €25mil move to Barcelona in 2009, but the cold, harsh fact was that he couldn't cut it at Camp Nou.

He also had a lot of help. The Ukrainian's troubles were constantly blamed on then-coach Pep Guardiola, while Carles Puyol believed his "qualities were perfect for Barca."

However, those characteristics were rarely observed on the pitch as a persistent injury didn’t help him, but he was often whistled by the supporters and played only 851 minutes for Barcelona before being sold back to Shakhtar Donetsk in 2010 for €10mil.

7. Keirrison

Barcelona paid an initial €14 million to sign Keirrison from Palmeiras in 2009, with a further €2 million in add-ons contingent on first-team appearances.

Keirrison was a washout who didn't play a single game for Barcelona. Not a single one. Despite having spent five years working on the Blaugrana's books.

Instead, he was loaned out to Benfica, Fiorentina, Santos, Cruzeiro, and Coritiba, whom he joined on a permanent basis when his contract with Barcelona expired in 2014.

6. Miralem Pjanic

With the signing of Miralem Pjanic from Juventus in June 2020, we probably received our first serious glimpse of Barcelona's poor financial predicament under Josep Maria Bartomeu.

The fee was, in theory, €60mil, with a possible €5 million in add-ons, but in actuality, this was a swap deal, with Pjanic's entrance at Camp Nou coinciding with Arthur's departure for Turin for a claimed €72mil.

Unsurprisingly, it was a failure on the sports front. Pjanic spent only one season at Barcelona before being loaned to Besiktas and then joining Sharjah in September 2022 when his contract was mutually terminated.

5. Martin Braithwaite

Catalans found themselves in a predicament entirely of their own making in February 2020 when they were forced to request an emergency acquisition when Ousmane Dembele was ruled out for the rest of the season.

So, Barca paid €18mil to buy Martin Braithwaite from Leganes, who were unable to recruit a replacement and were demoted as a result.

The Dane, who is now lining out for Espanyol, rarely started for Barca, and managed just five goals in 44 Liga appearances.

4. Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a living legend in the game. On the other hand, his move to Barcelona ranks as one of the worst transfers in history.

Remember that the Blaugrana not only paid Inter €69.5 million for Ibrahimovic but also handed over 2009 Champions League star Samuel Eto'o, who later helped the Nerazzurri win the treble after defeating Barcelona in the semis.

Ibramovic’s relationship with then Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola completely collapsed, with the Swede, who scored 21 goals in all competitions, having accused the Catalan of having "no balls."

3. Antoine Griezmann

Antoine Griezmann embarrassed Barcelona in 2018 by openly flirting with a €100mil transfer to Camp Nou before officially rejecting it at the end of a video documentary.

On the other hand, the Catalans went back in for Griezmann the next year, agreeing to pay the €120m buy-out provision in the Frenchman's contract, as if determined to prove a point.

The French attacker had his moments at Camp Nou, but they were few and far between, and he went back to Madrid in 2021, re-joining Atletico on loan with a view to a permanent deal.

2. Philippe Coutinho

One of the most significant moves in Liverpool history, but a disaster for Barcelona. The Blaugrana agreed to spend €120 million - plus €40 million in potential bonuses - for a player they didn't need.

The end effect was a living nightmare. Indeed, Coutinho's most notable contribution during his four years on Barcelona's books came in 2020, when he scored two goals against the Catalans while on loan to Bayern Munich.

After what seemed like an eternity of attempting to get rid of the Brazil international, they agreed to let him join Aston Villa for €20mil in 2022.

1. Ousmane Dembele

Ousmane Dembele tops this ignominious list not only because he failed miserably to justify his €105mil fee; he also has only himself to blame, as he has revealed.

Barcelona went out of their way to accommodate Dembele, with club president Joan Laporta arguing that this "genius" of a player deserved "special treatment," resulting in Dembele being given numerous chances to prove himself.

The French winger, on the other hand, never did after six years at Barcelona and he has already departed the Catalan club for Paris Saint-Germain despite never reaching double figures in a single Liga season.

Ousmane Dembele finally leaves Barcelona

PSG had threatened to abandon their expected purchase of the 26-year-old winger after giving Barcelona 24 hours to complete the deal following the Catalan club’s reluctance to finalise it.

Dembele has agreed on personal terms with PSG and has signed his first contract at the French club, meaning that a deal has been finalised.