Cruyff: Barca comes alive after signing dream players

Barcelona’s sporting director Jordi Cruyff says “the city is alive again” following the arrival of players who “chose to follow their dream” rather than money.

Last season was a turbulent year for Barca as they wrestled with financial debt which forced them to let iconic forward Lionel Messi join Paris St-Germain for free.

Their off-pitch problems and the weakness of their team meant they were no opposition for arch-rivals Real Madrid, who won the Spanish title comfortably and then added the Champions League.

It was the first time since 2003-04 that Barca have gone three years without winning the league.

The club have however managed to bring in a host of new signings this summer, including Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Jules Kounde.

“Barcelona has a magnet, it is beautiful,” Cruyff told Spanish football expert Guillem Balague before the Cruyff Legacy Summit, where Arsene Wenger, Ronald Koeman and Sarina Wiegman are scheduled to speak.

“You can see the pride in the eyes of the players when they get a chance to sign for Barcelona and that has helped a lot, being able to compete with clubs with bigger budgets and better salaries.

“They wanted to sign for Barcelona and we are very grateful for these players because, believe me, they had better offers than us.

“And still they chose to follow their dream to be part of the history. When you see the eyes shining in these players you know you are in a special place.”

Barca are unbeaten after five games so far this season and Xavi’s side thrashed Viktoria Plzen 5-1 in their Champions League opener on Wednesday.

Cruyff added: “The team has started really well, with the manager doing a really good job. He has a positive headache… he has a good squad to choose from.

“If that continues the right way, the city is alive again. Even for the smaller games, [the Nou Camp] is a sell-out and that shows the mood.

“You see how the people are so happy with the players that have joined. You feel it is alive again and this club needed that.”

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