The brutal truth on Barcelona's transfer business in recent years

There was a unique and special generation from La Masia which produced world class players such as Messi, Ineista, Pique, Jordi Alba and Busquets. The club then added top tier talent to fill the areas of the squad which needed to be improved such as Luis Suarez, Coutinho and Dembele. There's serious depth to this squad which will allow them to fight on all fronts. But first we need to look at all the previous transfer business.

Without including the players signing this summer, who will all have a place in the first team squad, you need to see what happened before. From 2014/15 to 2017/18, 22 players were signed for varying prices - €3.5m for Denis and €140m for Dembele - but 12 of those are no longer at the club. More than half of the new signings haven't made the grade at Barcelona.

Remain at the club: Luis Suárez, Ter Stegen, Rakitic, Vermaelen

Have left: Mathieu, Claudio Bravo, Douglas

Looking at previous campaigns, this is easily the best performing window. It gave three starters: Luis Suárez (€81m), Rakitic (18) and Ter Stegen (12). All three created the spine of the team alongside Andres Iniesta, Messi and company.

But there are also serious question marks over this window. Barça paid Valencia €20m for Jeremy Mathieu. He remained at the club for three years but failed to perform during that time. He eventually rescinded his contract to join Sporting Clube de Portugal on a free transfer.

Claudio Bravo and Douglas have also left. The Chilean was eventually ousted by Ter Stegen but the Brazilian was an absolute disaster. He only played eight official matches for Barcelona and this season was loaned to Sivasspor.

Thomas Vermaelen is still at the club as the 'fourth' central defender in the squad. Injuries have always stopped him from being anything more than that.

Have left: Arda Turan, Aleix Vidal

Due to the transfer ban imposed by FIFA, only two players joined Barcelona that season: Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal. They both needed to wait six months to make their debut in January due to the ban. Neither player started well and in the case of Turan, who signed for nearly €35m, he never came close to finding his feet at the club. He's currently on loan at Basaksehir until 2020.

Aleix Vidal returned to Sevilla this summer for €8m. Luis Enrique and Valverde both tried to give Vidal a chance but for one reason or another it didn't work out for him at Barcelona.

Remain at the club: Umtiti, Cillessen, Denis Suárez

Have left: Digne, André Gomes, Alcácer (about to join Borussia Dortmund on loan)

Free to sign whoever they want, the only success was the arrival of Samuel Umtiti. No one else managed to force their way into the first team plans.

Andre Gomes joined from Valencia in a €35m deal and there were clauses which included 'winning the Ballon d'Or'. The player couldn't deal with the pressure of representing Barcelona and was loaned out to Everton this summer.

Lucas Digne has joined the same team, although this time on a permanent transfer, after failing to challenge Alba for a first team spot. At least on the business side of things it wasn't a disaster. He cost €16.5m but was sold for €20.2m.

Cillessen and Denis Suarez remain at the club but their roles are largely irrelevent. The Dutch stopper is pushing for a move away because he wants to play in more competitions than just the Copa del Rey. Suarez, despite his talent, hasn't been able to fit in again. A real shame.

Remain at the club: Coutinho, Dembélé, Semedo

Have left: Paulinho, Deulofeu, Yerry Mina, Marlon

It's almost impossible to believe, and at the same time very significant, that four of the seven players signed by Barcelona last season have already left the club. And for those who did stay: Coutinho and Dembele cost huge sums of money but neither is a guaranteed starter, while Semedo is still behind Sergi Roberto in the pecking order at right back.

The deal for Paulinho is incredible. He was signed for €40m and then, a year later, has rejoined his old side on loan. Guangzhou Evergrande will make the deal permanent in January for €50m. Truth be told, Paulinho didn't perform badly in his brief stay at Barcelona.

Yerry Mina was another failure, although his successful World Cup helped Barcelona out of a tricky situation. He scored three goals and his price shot through the roof. In the end, Barça made a €19m profit on the player who never appeared comfortable in his six months at the club.

Gerard Deulofeu and Marlon Santos both failed the make the grade at Barcelona. The defender was sold to Sassuolo for €6m. As for Deulofeu, who like Suarez hasn't been able to fit in at Barça at the second attempt, he joined Watford for €13m this summer.