“Barcelona’s time in the wilderness, such as it was, seems to be over. Last season they clinched another Liga title in Spain, their second in three campaigns after three barren years at the start of the decade. They also reached the Champions League semi-finals for the first time in six seasons.While last Sunday’s trip to Real Madrid proved a losing one, Barca had won four successive Clasicos across all competitions. They are a force once more. As they are wont to do in football, Barcelona’s on-pitch struggles dovetailed with off-the-pitch concerns. The tale away from the playing field in recent years has been dizzying, one of soaring costs and debts, of quirks and chicanery unseen elsewhere. It has even given rise to a new entrant into the footballing lexicon: palancas, or ‘levers’. …”
NY Times/The Athletic