Former Barcelona winger, Emmanuel Amuneke, says the Catalans’ humiliating 8-2 UEFA Champions League quarter-final defeat to Bayern Munich signified the end of an era, and expects an overhaul of the playing staff at his former club.
Six of Barcelona’s top players, namely Lionel Messi, Gerard Pique, Arturo Vidal, Sergio Busquets, Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba, over 30 years of age, were on parade on Friday against the Germans.
The five-time Champions League winners suffered their heaviest defeat in the competition, as Bayern outclassed them in Lisbon, Portugal.
The defeat was also Barcelona’s sixth in the Champions League to Bayern.
It ends a season that saw them lose the Spanish league title to rivals Real Madrid.
Amuneke, who featured for Barcelona from 1996 to 2000, said the club must bring in young players if they hoped to return to the summit of world football.
“I really don’t understand the team (Barcelona), but that’s football,” Amuneke said.
“I think Barcelona need reinforcement.
“The Bayern team were well organised, they had a clear idea of what they set out to achieve.
“You could see that Barcelona were not comfortable each time they (Bayern) had possession.
“It’s an end of an era for Barca. They must see how they can bring in new players into the squad.
“If you look at the age of the team (Barcelona), from the defence to the attack, they are all old but I must admit, Bayern are playing well at the moment and they deserve their victory.”
Barcelona manager Quique Setien will almost certainly be the first casualty of the expected inquest at the club.
According to several media reports in Spain, Barca have called an extraordinary meeting on Monday (today) to assess the current situation at the Camp Nou, with Setien’s future set to be one of the main subjects up for discussion.