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Ronaldinho was never the same after leaving Barcelona.

5 world-class players who dramatically declined after leaving Barcelona

Barcelona are widely considered to be one of world football’s most glamourous clubs – and plenty of big-name players have suffered dramatic declines after leaving the club.

The La Liga giants have been lucky enough to field some of the greatest players in football history, as well as several generational talents who never recovered after leaving Camp Nou.

We’ve identified five players who were considered world-class operators while at Barcelona but dramatically declined after leaving.

Ronaldinho

Ronaldinho’s luxurious lifestyle coupled with fitness issues made for a disappointing 2007-08 season and he was put up for sale by Barcelona that summer.

Many fans were devastated considering the Brazilian’s iconic status and five successful years at Barca, but Pep Guardiola was unsentimental in his assessment of Ronaldinho.

It was agreed that he needed a new challenge and that came in the form of Milan, spending three years with the Rossoneri before moving back to Brazil and eventually retiring with Fluminense in 2015.

Philippe Coutinho

Coutinho is widely regarded as one of the worst signings in Barcelona’s history and has been held up as one of the key reasons for their financial struggles in recent years.

His decline since leaving the club, which now finds Coutinho back in Brazil after underwhelming spells at Aston Villa and in Qatar, have been so dramatic that it’s easy to forget why Barca paid all that money in the first place.

The playmaker was sensational at Liverpool and serviceable during his first few months in Spain, but ultimately failed to fill the boots of Neymar and Andres Iniesta, the two players it was hoped he could replace.

READ: Revisiting the 6 Philippe Coutinho alternatives Barcelona considered

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Barcelona took a risk when signing Aubameyang from Arsenal in January 2022 after the Gabon forward left the club amid increasing disciplinary issues.

The free transfer proved a brilliant piece of business, with Aubameyang scoring 13 goals and assisting once in just 24 games, before leaving again in the summer to sign for Chelsea in a £10.3million deal.

Barcelona got the most out of the forward and sold him at the right time, with Aubameyang flopping at Chelsea and leaving shortly after. He now plays in Saudi Arabia for Al Qadsiah.


READ NEXT: Where are they now? The 8 Barcelona players Pep Guardiola sold after making just one appearance

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Deco

A magnificent footballer in his pomp, Deco’s powers were waning by 2008 but many would’ve assumed he still could’ve played a key role at Barcelona.

Guardiola thought differently. He was happy to sell the Portugal international to Chelsea, where he struggled to rediscover his previous magic.

He spent two years at Stamford Bridge before retiring with Fluminense.

Deco has had his own sports agency since retiring and returned to Barcelona in 2023 as the club’s sporting director.

Claudio Bravo

While Bravo had built a good reputation for himself at Barcelona, his subsequent time in England wasn’t exactly a roaring success.

During his solitary season as Manchester City’s first-choice goalkeeper, he had a save percentage of just 56.7% which was the worst of any Premier League goalkeeper that year.

Guardiola soon purchased Ederson to replace him and after spending a few years on the bench, he returned to Spain in 2020 to join Real Betis.

Bravo was fine at Betis, but it was still a significant fall from grace for a player widely considered to be one of the world’s best goalkeepers in the mid-2010s.