Deco is currently serving as the sporting director of FC Barcelona, a role he stepped into in 2023.
Deco and Barcelona
Deco played for Barcelona during the 2004-2008 era, which was a successful period in the history of the club. He understands the club’s culture and philosophy, which is rooted in possession-based attacking football.
Mateu Alemany’s tenure at the club
Deco was appointed as the sporting director after the departure of Mateu Alemany. Alemany was highly appreciated by the fans due to his work at the club. Despite Barcelona’s financial constraints, Alemany secured key signings that were quite pivotal for Barcelona’s season.
Memphis Depay, Eric Garcia, and Sergio Aguero were Alemany’s first three signings, and they were all free transfers. Yusuf Demir and Luuk De Jong (both loans) also joined in the summer of 2021. Later in the winter window of 2021/22, Ferran Torres, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and Adama Traore (loan) were signed, while Dani Alves signed a few months prior.
These signings were key for Barcelona as the club was facing backlash due to the financial conditions. Despite all the issues, Barcelona managed to sign these players who helped in the season.
Later Barcelona spent big in 2022, getting the likes of Raphinha, Jules Kounde, and Robert Lewandowski on big-money deals. All three have had successful first seasons and will likely remain at the club going into next season.
Later Pablo Torre, Andreas Christensen, Franck Kessie, and Marcos Alonso also joined with now money issues.
Despite all the problems and criticism the club had to face regarding the financial front, Alemnay had a pretty successful tenure and made sure the club isn’t left behind being active in the transfer market. His focus on free transfers has been fruitful, although he has been largely unsuccessful in solving the club’s financial issues.
Deco’s Tenure at the Club
Deco also secured some key signings at the club, but not all were too helpful in the process related to Barcelona’s game.
Key signings under Deco were Vitor Roque, who is currently on loan at Betis. Ilkay Gundogan was signed from Man City, who is resold to Man City; this transfer to Man City was done due to financial problems. Iñigo Martínez was signed from Athletic Bilbao, who is successful at Barcelona currently. João Félix and João Cancelo were both loaned players and were pivotal for Barcelona but are not currently at Barcelona.
The latest signings Barcelona made under Deco were Dani Olmo and Pau Victor, who are under fire due to registration issues.
Is Deco the right guy?
In my opinion, Deco made key signings despite Barcelona’s financial conditions. Deco still had some problems during his tenure, which were a setback to the club’s reputation. Deco is not the only one to be blamed; the board, including Joan Laporta, should be equally blamed.
Last season, when João Félix and João Cancelo were loaned in, both the Portuguese had amazing seasons with Barcelona. There were promises from the board regarding both players contracts that they will be staying further. This did not happen at the end of the season.
Another epitome is the Dani Olmo and Pau Victor situation. When Olmo and Pau were signed, Barcelona initially faced challenges with their registration, leading both to miss the opening games of La Liga. There were again solutions to register both players, but currently the situation is completely different, and both players are free agents.
There were claims that Deco was absent from the club’s office during this crucial time and Laporta was the only one who was present handling the situation.