How messed up was Barcelona's signing tactics under Josep Maria Bartomeu? Former club advisor Arieda Braida offered a glimpse of how things were carried out at Camp Nou and his depiction amounted to a chaotic situation. The Catalans eventually missed out on signing Paul Pogba and Erling Haaland.
Braida said he made the proposals that could have led to the two players showing off their football skills at La Liga but submissions were largely ignored. Since he joined in 2015 and until his firing in late 2019, Braida claimed nothing big was achieved in the hiring department.
Now, the former Barca employee is waging a legal battle with the club as he argued that his separation has no justification. In an interview with Marca, Braida said he was treated without "value and respect" while working with the organization.
He was brought in with the expectations that he'd replicate what he did for AC Milan. Braida was involved in the deals that saw the likes of Kaka and Thiago Silva rising to stardom for the Italian giants but in Barcelona, there was no chance he could do the same. He was denied such a responsibility.
For instance, Braida claimed that tipped off the Catalans about Haaland when the Borussia Dortmund star was still in Norway. But Camp Nou simply responded that Haaland lacked the Barcelona profile.
The snub proved a big miss as the Norwegian proved a prolific goalscorer for Dortmund and is now considered as one of the rising stars in Bundesliga.
Also, Braida recounted about the lost opportunity of bringing over Pogba when the French was still with Juventus. Barcelona initiated the move but the former club executive thought Camp Nou was not serious enough to close the deal.
"Despite the talks, there was no real intention to sign him. In fact, Pogba ended up staying that summer in Turin and did not go to another club. I said he was a great player," Braida was reported as saying.
He thought that the missed opportunities while Barcelona was caused by the prevailing culture at the club. Braida said with Milan, he was in touch with club hierarchy but with Barcelona, he was grappling with clarity of direction.
According to Goal, the former hiring advisor had no proper audience with Bartomeu. Braida said a relationship with the Barca chief, personal or otherwise, was practically non-existent.
"I think that talking once a year is not having a great relationship," Braida explained.
He added that the lawsuit filed against Barcelona was for the club to realize they should conduct business with respect, and that he is ready to move one and talk about a solution outside of the legal setting.
