BT Sport pundit Joe Cole insists Xavi's Barcelona is a huge rebuild

‘It’s a huge rebuild’: Joe Cole claims new boss Xavi will need to recruit a clutch of top new players after Barcelona’s dismal Champions League exit – insisting with the current group they simply can’t compete

  • Barcelona lost 3-0 to Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday night
  • BT Sport pundit Joe Cole believes cash-strapped Barca face a total rebuild
  • Xavi’s side were comfortably beaten and now drop into the Europa League
  • The Catalan giants have not been absent from the last-16 since 2003-04

BT Sport pundit Joe Cole insists Barcelona face a ‘huge rebuild’ after they were eliminated from the Champions League, having suffered a 3-0 defeat by Bayern Munich at a snowy Allianz Arena on Wednesday night.

Thomas Muller opened the scoring for the Bavarian giants on 34 minutes with a header following a Robert Lewandowski cross, and a 30-yard sublime strike from Leroy Sane doubled their advantage on the night just before half-time.

Youngster Jamal Musiala added a third in the second half, as the hosts inflicted more misery on the Catalan giants, who have failed to progress to the last-16 for the first time in 21 years.

Thomas Muller gave Bayern Munich the lead on the night at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday

Leroy Sane fired a ferocious 30-yard effort past Barcelona goalkeeper Marc Andre-ter Stegen 

Speaking after the game, Cole insists Xavi faces an uphill task to restore the club to the summit of European football.

‘This might be a good thing for Barcelona. Having Xavi at the helm, he’ll quell any dissenters. It’s a huge rebuild,’ the former Chelsea and Liverpool midfielder said in the studio.

‘I wouldn’t say there are three players – outside the young players – they’d want to keep hold of.

‘So they have to bring players in. As long as the fans understand where they are, we could see them back in two or three years.

‘They simply can’t compete in the Champions League with that group of players.’

Joe Cole insists Barcelona face a total rebuild and believes the current players can’t compete

Xavi’s side had to match Benfica’s result in the other game being played in Group E, but the Portuguese giants eased to a 2-0 victory at home against Ukrainian side Dynamo Kiev to book their place in the quarter-finals.

Barcelona finished on seven points in the standings and only managed two goals in the whole of the group stage, with those coming in both games against Dynamo.

The draw for the Europa League takes place on Monday at 12:00 GMT in Nyon with Barca set to face one of the Europa League group runners-up, with Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s Rangers one of their potential opponents.




Share this article


Source: Read Full Article