Barcelona were champions of Europe when they sold seven players in the summer of 2015 – but what became of those players cut loose by the Spanish giants?
Luis Enrique signed the likes of Aleix Vidal and Arda Duran after winning the Champions League and, while Barca didn’t retain their European title, they did win La Liga and the Copa del Rey for a second successive season.
Barca parted ways with seven players in 2015, and they were, for the most part, the right choice. But where are they now?
Xavi
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Xavi announced his departure in 2015 and immediately joined Qatari side Al-Saad, where he stayed until his retirement four years later.
The iconic midfielder was appointed manager of Al-Saad in 2019, where he impressed Barca fans with his side’s free-flowing football.
It felt like a matter of time until he became Barca’s new boss and nobody was surprised when Xavi returned to Camp Nou in November 2021.
He won La Liga in 2023, but struggled to make much impression in Europe and left the club at the end of the 2023-24 season.
Gerard Deulofeu
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The first signing of the Ernesto Valverde era back in the summer of 2017, two years after leaving the club, Barcelona activated a buyback clause inserted into Deulofeu’s Everton contract and he returned to the Catalan giants for just over £10million.
By January 2018, however, he’d made just 10 La Liga appearances before being shipped back to England, joining Watford on loan and eventually permanently.
The Spaniard swapped Watford for Udinese – both sides owned by the Pozzo family – but hasn’t kicked a ball since the beginning of 2023 due to a nightmare knee injury.
His contract was terminated by Udinese in January 2025.
Ibrahim Afellay
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There was plenty of hype surrounding the Dutch winger upon his arrival at Barcelona in 2010. However, he struggled for minutes while in Spain and was eventually shipped to Stoke City following a couple of loan spells.
Injuries seemed to follow the Dutchman throughout his entire career and forced him into an early retirement at the age of 34.
“What I wanted has not happened,” Afellay said upon retiring. “But I am at peace with it. You know that this moment will come sooner or later. It’s fine like this.”
Now aged 38, the former Barcelona winger works as a pundit for Dutch broadcaster NOS.
Pedro
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You may be aware that Pedro is still turning out for Lazio, the Roman club coached by Maurizio Sarri who are through to the Europa League quarter-final.
Even scored 10 goals in 33 appearances in 2024-25 to date.
But, come on. Pedro? The 2010 World Cup winner? Cornerstone of Guardiola’s attack at Barcelona? Played for Chelsea under Jose Mourinho? That Pedro?
We’re beyond amazed that the 37-year-old is still playing.
Alen Halilovic
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Talked up as Barcelona’s answer to Martin Odegaard because Halilovic was signed as a prodigiously talented teenager, Halilovic hasn’t quite gone on to fulfil his potential quite like Arsenal’s skipper.
The Croatian midfielder never made a La Liga appearance for Barcelona and was sold to Hamburg after two years. Stints at AC Milan, Birmingham and Reading have followed.
Halilovic is still only 28 and is currently playing for Eredivisie side Fortuna Sittard.
Denis Suarez
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We could bore you with the details of the Spanish midfielder’s weird stop-start career – filled with loans away, buyback clauses and false dawns – but let’s just say that Suarez has struggled to ever find a home, which was certainly the case with his various stints at Barcelona.
He did make over a hundred appearances for Celta Vigo, but just when it looked as though he was finally settled he was sold to Villarreal. A career that can only be described as nomadic.
Adama Traore
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No one could have predicted that the lightning-fast winger from Barcelona’s La Masia academy would have trod the career path he has so far.
He made his first and only La Liga appearance for Barcelona, replacing Neymar in a 4-0 win over Granada in November 2013.
He was just 17 years old at the time, but never made another league appearance.
He’s since turned out for Tim Sherwood’s Aston Villa and Tony Pulis’ Middlesbrough before making his name at Wolves as a baby-oiled speed demon.
Traore even returned to Barcelona for a brief loan spell in 2021-22, although the La Liga giants declined to re-sign him permanently. Traore now infuriates and delights in equal measure for Fulham.