Exclusive: Mega poll reveals Barcelona fans’ opinion on players’ future

Before the next season goes underway, Barcelona endure a tough test in the summer in the transfer window. Not only do they need to get reinforcements in several positions, they need to sell players from the squad in an attempt to free up space and raise money.

We at Barça Universal conducted a poll to understand Barcelona fans’ thoughts on who they would rather keep, loa, or sell in the current roster. There were some really interesting observations.

Marc-Andre ter Stegen did not enjoy the best of seasons last campaign and has been heavily criticised on social media. That said, Barça fans seem to have their faith in the German shot-stopper, as 89.5% of the 7,245 people who voted want him to stay, with only 9.4% in favour of selling him.

The same cannot be said for Gerard Pique, though. The third-captain of the team was under a microscope the entire season after enduring a long-term injury, and unsurprisingly, more than half (53.6%) of the voters would rather see him go.

Two more names that divided the fanbase were Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele. Griezmann has had a tough time fitting in with a team and boasts of a heavy salary, and naturally, 54% of the votes were in favour of him leaving. That said, the poll dates back to before Dembele got injured and before the signing of Memphis Depay was announced.

Lionel Messi, naturally received an incredible 93.4% of votes in favour of him staying. But he was not the most popular player in the polls. In fact, his 93.4% rate ranks sixth in the Barcelona squad.

Sergino Dest received a mammoth 93.7% in his favour at the fifth most popular, while Pedri enjoyed 96.6% at rank 4. Ronald Araujo’s 96.8% push him to third, while Ansu Fati’s 97.5% only manage to reach runners up position. Receiving the most votes in favour of continuation at the club was Frenkie de Jong, with an incredible 98.1%.

Only 1.4% (107) of the 7,659 voters wish he was sold, while 0.5% (38) want him to be loaned out. We can only assume these people are rival fans jealous of the Dutchman or clicked the incorrect option.

The jury seems to be out on Martin Braithwaite and Samuel Umtiti, though, who managed to receive only 4.7% and 4.8% votes in favour of them staying. Which seems odd, especially when someone like Matheus Fernandes played only 17 minutes across the entire season. Fernandes escaped with just 6.7% of voters in favour of selling him.

Elsewhere, club-record signing Philippe Coutinho is not a popular figure among the fans, and unsurprisingly received the 6th lowest votes to stay at 9.4%.

Fourth-choice captain Sergi Roberto clocked similar numbers as well, with fans pushing for his departure this summer itself. 88.4% of the voters want him sold, with only 9.1% hope that he stays.

There are some other interesting observation that can be noted through the graph below. Despite just breaking out in the team, Oscar Mingueza has become a popular name among the fans, receiving just over 90% of the votes for him to stay.

Miralem Pjanic and Carles Alena are deemed to be expendable assets as well, with the Barcelona midfield full of stars. They registered a mere 10.4% and 15.4% hoping they stay. However, Alena’s loan numbers were significantly higher than Pjanic at 25.6%.

Speaking of loan votes, Fransisco Trincao was the only one who divided the voters in all three options, with the loan count coming up highest. 34.7% (2,713) of the 7,818 that voted would like him to stay, while 23.9% (1,868) voted for a sale. But 41.4% (3,236) would rather loan him out.

The post Exclusive: Mega poll reveals Barcelona fans’ opinion on players’ future appeared first on Barca Universal.



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