COMMENT: Barcelona are European champions! Cue the celebrations! But domination? A dynasty? C'mon, get a grip. Claims Barca are the season's outstanding team are even a stretch. Yes, right now, at this moment, they're exceptional. But midway through the campaign, Barca were on their knees.
'It's him or me'. Remember those screaming headlines after coach Luis Enrique's ruck with Lionel Messi? That was just the tip of the iceberg. There was the Neymar transfer money. The FIFA investigation into youth recruiting. The transfer ban. The sacking of Andoni Zubizarreta. The list goes on and on.
And while the crisis galvanised the players, with so many of these difficulties unresolved, it's ridiculous to claim Barca will now dominate Europe. Josep Maria Bartomeu's situation is proof of that.
In a normal world, winning the Treble would guarantee the president re-election. But the club has been in such chaos off the pitch, that Bartomeu is expected to lose his job at this summer's poll.
Barca went into Saturday's final with Daniel Alves stating he was "playing for the team, not the club" and Enrique refusing to commit himself beyond their date with Juventus. Victory in Berlin changed little. Bartomeu claimed both men would stay. But Alves talked up a move to AC Milan at the final whistle, while Enrique again refused to discuss next season.
The coach is still upset over the midseason sacking of Zubizarreta. If you need a symbol of where Barca were at the turn of the year, it's Zubi. He was the scapegoat for a board under huge pressure. These Treble winners are his team. Luis Suarez, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Jeremy Mathieu, Jordi Alba, these are his players. Yet, he paid for these signings with his job. And along with Zubi, Carles Puyol also left. Like Enrique, the former captain was unhappy with the way his boss had been hung out to dry.
Daniel Alves could now follow Zubizarreta and Puyol out of the club. One of the key leaders of the locker room, it appears Barca have now washed their hands. A deal for Aleix Vidal, the Sevilla wing-back, was confirmed by Barca last night. The Spain international will arrive as a direct replacement for Alves - though won't be registered until January 1, 2016, due to Barca's summer market ban
Vidal is a fine player, but no Alves and even if he does fill the Brazilian's position successfully, it's unlikely he'll do the same inside the dressing room. Shorn of Alves and Xavi, the atmosphere at Barca will be different next season.
There's also the ticking time-bomb of Messi and his positional switch. The Argentine has been celebrated for putting aside his ego and accepting a wide right role in Enrique's system. We even wrote about it ourselves. But since then, La Masia sources have told Tribalfootball that Messi's decision was made only for this season. The tension between himself and Enrique still exists.
Not getting on the scoresheet in Berlin has only exacerbated the issue. Messi's great rival, Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo, finished the season with the European Golden Boot. Yes, the Argie genius can comfort himself with the glory of a Barca Treble. But we're also talking about someone who will line his home's hallway with his individual gongs, including four Ballon d'Ors, and post a picture of them to millions of his social media followers. Losing the 'Golden Shoe' to Ronaldo will not be dismissed lightly.
Is this what's driving the hesitancy of Enrique? It was curious that he talked up Suarez as one of Barca's "greatest ever signings" in post-match. Was he making a point about Zubizarreta? Or laying down a marker to Messi and his desire for a central role?
Messi's handling is just one of several issues looming for the coach (whomever that may be) next season. Will goalkeeping pair Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Claudio Bravo be satisfied with their current roles? And what of Neymar and his showboating? Enrique made clear he was unhappy with the Brazilian's antics after the Copa del Rey final. But Neymar, in clear defiance of Enrique, insisted he "would not change". It's not the first time the No11 has been so public in challenging the coach's authority.
Further irritating Enrique is that without Zubizarreta, there is no-one else in the front office with similar esteem to lay down the law to his players. This has been a chief complaint of his during those talks with Bartomeu late in the season, which still failed to yield a commitment for next term.
And this is all happening at the top end of the club. There's also been the B team's relegation and their sacking of coach Eusebio Sacristan after four years in charge - and a connection to Barca since 2003. His replacement, Jordi Vinyals, has been outspoken about the "decline" in professionalism within the squad, famously clashing with star signing, Alen Halilovic, late in the season. After four years in the Segunda Division, dropping into the Segunda B is a blow to Barca's development pyramid.
On the surface Barca's Treble winners, with their triumvirate, are magnificent. But behind the celebrations, from the boardroom right down to the youth team, there are major issues that must be confronted and solved. And it all begins with a presidential election ... with a date still to be confirmed.
