Barcelona have made so many signings over the years in the hopes of returning to dominance at the Champions League level, and, as their latest elimination to PSG would indicate, that hasn’t exactly gone well.
Some additions have been outright disasters like Marcos Alonso, Oriol Romeu, and Antoine Griezmann. Others have been more mixed like Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, and the Joaos.
Then there are other signings that have worked out very well, such as Ilkay Gundogan and Jules Kounde. After all, Barcelona did win LaLiga in the 2022/23 season, pretty easily triumphing over rivals Real Madrid in the end.
But when looking at the full list of signings Barcelona have made over the last several years, it is center back Andreas Christensen who stands out the most as the best of those additions.
Christensen joined Barcelona for free in the summer 2022 transfer window with little expectations, and many footballing observers around the world probably took the same view of the ex-Chelsea defender as they did all the other veteran Barcelona free agent signings: a decent value player who isn’t good enough to make a substantial impact.
Instead, Christensen was the best center back in LaLiga that season, even above his teammates Ronald Araujo and Jules Kounde, who ended up accommodating the Danish international by playing right back.
Christensen completed 94 percent of his passes in the 2022/23 LaLiga season, and he has actually eclipsed that number in the 2023/24 campaign despite Barca’s downturn in results, notching a 94.4 percent accuracy rate.
The 28-year-old is at the peak of his defensive powers, rarely getting beaten and reading the game perfectly. He translates that intelligence and accuracy of passing well to the defensive midfield.
No, he is certainly not the ideal long-term starting No. 6 for Barcelona, but he has looked like their best short-term option, which speaks to his overall quality.
For precisely nothing other than modest wages, Barcelona signed one of the best center backs in European football and someone whose professionalism, consistency, and playing style seem suited to a lengthy career at the top.
Maybe Barcelona didn’t know Christensen would be this solid and their most reliable player in the entire squad, but they still deserve all the credit for making this deal.
Christensen is at the top of the podium of best value signings for sure. He may not have the hype from the mainstream crowd, but Barcelona fans know exactly what he brings to the table week in and week out.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He has been an editor for NFL Spin Zone, Daily DDT for pro wrestling, Autzen Zoo covering the Oregon Ducks, Musket Fire covering the New England Patriots, The Real Champs covering Real Madrid, Old Juve covering Juventus, Rush The Kop covering Liverpool, and Release The Knappen covering Schalke. His work has been featured in ESPN, Bleacher Report, Yahoo! Sports, NBC Sports, and other outlets. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.