2021–22 FC Barcelona season
The 2021–22 season is the 122nd season in the existence of FC Barcelona and the club's 91st consecutive season in the top flight of Spanish football. In addition to the domestic league, FC Barcelona participated in this season's editions of the Copa del Rey, the Supercopa de España, the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League. This is the first season since 2003–04 to not feature Lionel Messi, who transferred to Paris Saint-Germain after his contract expired. Season overview. May. On 31 May, Barcelona announced the signing of Sergio Agüero from Manchester  City on a free transfer. June. On 1 June, Barcelona announced the signing of Eric García from Manchester City on a free transfer. On 2 June, Barcelona announced the signing of Emerson from Real Betis. Barça had informed Betis that they would exercise their option to bring back Emerson after his two-year long loan spell with the "Verdiblancos". On 19 June, Barcelona announced the signing of Memphis Depay from Olympique Lyonnais on a free transfer. On 27 June, OGC Nice activated their option to buy Jean-Clair Todibo permanently from his loan spell for €8.5 million plus € 7 million in variables. On 29 June, Barcelona and Olympique de Marseille reached an agreement for the transfer of Konrad de la Fuente for €3 million. Barça will also receive a percentage of any future transfer fee. Barça also terminated the contract of Matheus Fernandes. July. On 1 July, Lionel Messi's contract expired amidst negotiations to sign a new contract, effectively making Messi a free agent. On 4 July, Barcelona and Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. reached an agreement for the loan of Francisco Trincão for the rest of the season with an option to buy for €29 million . On 6 July, Barcelona and Leeds United reached an agreement for the transfer of Junior Firpo for a fee of €15 million. On 7 July, UD Almería triggered Sergio Akieme's buy option for €3.5 million, with Barcelona reserving a right to 10% of any future sale and a right to first refusal. On 9 July, Barcelona and SK Rapid Wien reached an agreement over the loan of Yusuf Demir, with Barça receiving an option to buy for €10 million. On 10 July, Barcelona and Getafe reached an agreement for the transfer of Carles Aleñá. On 17  July, Monchu joined Granada CF on a free deal following the expiration of his contract, with Barça reserving a right to 50% of any future sale, and a right to first refusal with a buyback option. August. Despite reaching an agreement with Messi and having planned to sign a contract on 5 August, the club announced that Messi wouldn't stay at the club due to financial and structural obstacles posed by La Liga regulations. He subsequently joined Paris Saint-Germain F.C. on 10 August. On 15 August, Barcelona defeated Real Sociedad 4–2 at home. Goals from Gerard Piqué, Sergi  Roberto and a brace from Martin Braithwaite ensured victory in their first La Liga match of the season. On 21 August, Barcelona drew with Athletic Bilbao away at San Mamés in the second match of the season. Iñigo Martínez scored for Athletic Club, and Memphis Depay scored his first official goal for Barça to end the match 1–1. On 29 August, Barcelona defeated Getafe 2–1 at home, thanks to goals from Sergi Roberto and Memphis Depay. On 31 August, Barcelona reached an agreement with RB Leipzig for the transfer of Ilaix Moriba for €16 million with €6 million  in add-ons; reached an agreement with Spezia for the loan of Rey Manaj for a fee of €300,000 with an option to buy for €2.7 million at the end of the season; reached an agreement with Tottenham Hotspur for the transfer of Emerson for €25 million; and reached an agreement with Atlético Madrid for the loan of Antoine Griezmann for a reported fee of €10 million with a mandatory buy option of €40 million. Barça also announced the signing of Luuk de Jong from Sevilla on a season long loan with an option to  buy. September. On 2 September, Barcelona and Beşiktaş reached an agreement for the loan of Miralem Pjanić for the rest of the season. On 14 September, Barcelona lost 3–0 at home to Bayern Munich in the first UEFA Champions League game of the season. Thomas Müller and Robert Lewandowski (brace) scored for the "Bavarians". On 20 September, Barcelona drew 1–1 with Granada at home. Barça conceded early in the match, but a goal from Ronald Araújo in the last minute of the game leveled the score. On 23 September, Barcelona drew 0–0 with Cádiz away from home. On 26 September , Barcelona defeated Levante 3–0 at home. Memphis, Luuk de Jong and Ansu Fati were the goalscorers, with the latter making his return after a 10-month absence due to injury. De Jong also scored his first goal for Barça. On 29 September, Barcelona lost 3–0 against Benfica away from home on the second matchday of the Champions League. October. On 2 October, Barcelona lost 2–0 against Atlético Madrid away from home. Thomas Lemar and former Barça player Luis Suárez scored the goals. On 17 October, Barcelona defeated Valencia 3–1 at home. Valencia took the lead early in the match, but  goals from Fati, Memphis and Philippe Coutinho ensured victory for Barça. On 20 October, Barcelona defeated Dynamo Kyiv 1–0 at home in the Champions league. Piqué scored the only goal in the game. On 24 October, Barcelona were defeated in El Clásico 2–1 at home, with David Alaba and Lucas Vázquez scoring for Real Madrid. Sergio Agüero scored in the last minute for a late consolation. On 27 October, Barcelona were again defeated, this time by Rayo Vallecano 1–0 away, with Radamel Falcao scoring the winner in the first half. It was Rayo's first league win over Barça in  19 years. On 28 October, Barcelona announced the dismissal of Ronald Koeman as the first team coach, ending his spell at the club after 14 months. On 29 October, Barcelona announced the appointment of Barcelona B head coach Sergi Barjuán as the interim manager of the first team. On 30 October, Barcelona drew 1–1 with Deportivo Alavés at home. Memphis scored first for the "Blaugrana", but Alavés equalized shortly after, courtesy of Luis Rioja. November. On 2 November, Barcelona defeated Dynamo Kyiv 1–0 away from home in the Champions league. Ansu Fati scored the only goal in the game. On  6 November, Barcelona announced the appointment of Xavi as the new first team head coach until 2024. Later that day, Barcelona drew 3–3 with Celta Vigo away from home. Barça had a three goal lead within the first half with goals from Fati, Busquets and Memphis, but a spirited performance from Celta leveled the score in the second half with the equalizing goal from Iago Aspas coming in the final minute. On 12 November, Barcelona announced an agreement in principle to sign former right-back Dani Alves on a free transfer. On 20 November, on Xavi's managerial debut, Barcelona  defeated Espanyol 1–0 at home in the derbi barceloní. Memphis scored from the penalty spot. On 23 November, Barcelona drew 0–0 with Benfica at home in the Champions League. On 27 November, Barcelona defeated Villarreal 3–1 away from home. Frenkie de Jong scored first, but Samuel Chukwueze equalized for the "Yellow Submarine". Memphis and Coutinho scored late to seal the win for Barça. December. On 4 December, Barcelona lost to Real Betis 1–0 at home. Juanmi scored for the visitors. On 8 December, Barcelona lost to Bayern 3–0 away from home at an empty Allianz Arena. Müller, Leroy Sané and  Jamal Musiala scored for the home side, eliminating Barça from the group stage and making the "Blaugrana" play in the UEFA Europa League for the first time since 2003. On 9 December, Barcelona and Granada reached an agreement for the loan of Álex Collado until the end of the season. On 15 December, Sergio Agüero announced his retirement in a press conference at the Camp Nou. On 21 December, Barcelona drew 1–1 with Sevilla at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, with Papu Gómez opening the account for "Los Rojiblancos" and Araújo equalising in the dying moments of the first–half. On  28 December, Barcelona announced the signing of Ferran Torres, with Torres signing a 5-year contract until 2027, with a buyout clause of €1 billion. January. On 2 January, Barcelona defeated Real Mallorca 1–0 at the Visit Mallorca Stadium. Luuk de Jong scored the only goal. On 5 January, Barcelona started their Copa del Rey campaign with a 2–1 away win against Linares. On 7 January, Barcelona reached an agreement with Aston Villa F.C. for the loan of Philippe Coutinho until the end of the season. On 10 January, Samuel Umtiti extended his contract until 2026, which allowed Barcelona  to register Ferran Torres. On 12 January, the second Clásico of the season was contested, this time at the semi-final stage of the Supercopa de España. Luuk de Jong and Ansu Fati scored equalizers for Barça, but it was not enough as Madrid won 3–2 after extra time. On 13 January, Barcelona reached an agreement with Rapid Wien to end the loan of Yusuf Demir. On 20 January, Barcelona were knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Athletic Bilbao 3–2 at San Mamés, with Iker Muniain's late winner cancelling out Ferran Torres and Pedri's goals, with  the former scoring his first Barça goal. On 23 January, Barcelona defeated Deportivo Alavés 1–0 away, thanks to a late winner from Frenkie de Jong. On 29 January, Barcelona announced the signing of Adama Traoré on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers. February. On 2 February, Barcelona announced the signing of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for free after his contract with Arsenal was terminated. Transfers. Transfer summary. "Undisclosed fees are not included in the transfer totals." Expenditure Summer: €10,500,000 Winter: €55,000,000 Total: €65,500,000 Income Summer: €95,800,000 Winter: €0,000,000 Total: €95,800,000 Net totals Summer: €85,300,000 Winter: € 55,000,000 Total: €30,300,000 Competitions. La Liga. Matches. The league fixtures were announced on 30 June 2021. UEFA Champions League. Group stage. The draw for the group stage was held on 26 August 2021. UEFA Europa League. Knockout phase. Knockout round play-offs. The draw for the knockout round play-offs was held on 13 December 2021. Round of 16. The draw for the Round of 16 was held on 25 February 2022. Quarter-finals. The draw for the quarter-finals was held on 18 March 2022. Statistics. Squad statistics. !|"Goalkeepers" !|"Defenders" !|"Midfielders" !|"Forwards" ! style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center|  Players who have made an appearance or had a squad number this season but have left the club