There has been plenty that has been said about FC Barcelona this season, although given the circumstances, it is hardly a surprise to hear what many have been saying about the club.
Of course, Blaugrana have had a number of troubles on and off the field this season, which have all added up to create a rather poor campaign by the Spanish side’s expectations.
The club are out of the La Liga title race after some poor form – having taken a total of just five points from their last 15 available, whilst their 2-1 shock defeat to Celta Vigo meant that Ronald Koeman’s ever so slim title hopes finally evaporated with just one game to go.
The Dutch manager has continued to come in for plenty of criticism over the course of the season – despite having led the team to the Copa del Rey – as their league and UEFA Champions League campaigns have been far from what was expected. Those that had used allvideoslots.com for their FC Barcelona betting needs may not have been best pleased, either.
One man, though, that is refusing to pin the blame on the coach is former FC Barcelona forward, Hristo Stoichkov – who decided he would point the finger at current star forward, Antoine Griezmann.
Stoichkov was arguably one of the greatest footballers of his generation, and Griezmann is considered to be in the upper echelons of the current generation, however the Bulgarian is not convinced and has continued to lament the French World Cup winner’s ability to turn up when the club appear to need him most.
“Now everyone says ‘Koeman, it’s Koeman’, but it’s not all his fault here,” Stoichkov said on the TUDN channel in Mexico and the United States, via Marca.
“There are the 11 [players] who play, and at Barcelona it’s not about how you play against teams like that [mid-table teams, like Celta]… Because he hasn’t even scored against Liverpool, Juventus, PSG, Real Madrid or Atletico, and he cost a lot of money.”
Indeed, whilst some may suggest it could be a throwaway comment, there is some evidence to suggest that Stoichkov is right.
Since completing a switch from Atletico Madrid in 2019, Griezmann has managed to score just 34 goals, with each of them having come against teams in the lower half of the La Liga table.
He did score against his former club in the 2020 Supercopa de Espana, but they would go on to lose 3-2.
For a player who was expected to replace and fill the huge football boots that Lionel Messi will leave in the near future, it simply is not good enough.
