It was a long time coming, but Barcelona's exit at the group stage of this season's Champions League still sent shockwaves around the world of football.
Everyone knows that the club are in dire straits financially, but to see them serve us such a turgid product on the pitch is remarkable considering their recent pedigree.
The 3-0 defeat to Bayern Munich last night summed up a lot of their problems. They simply do not have the quality to compete with the best teams in Europe, while they may not even be in this competition next season considering their recent form in La Liga.
It is difficult to know where they go from here. The financial constraints that the club must operate under makes improving the team very difficult in the short-term. That issue will only be compounded if they fail to finish in the top four in La Liga or do not win the Europa League in the months ahead, with the money from competing in the Champions League badly needed.
For now, they must make do with the players at their disposal.
Speaking on CBS Sports after last night's defeat, Jamie Carragher said that the fact that Barcelona were still relying so heavily on Gerard Pique and Sergio Busquets perfectly encapsulated their current issues.
Let's not forget that this has been going on a long time with lots of different managers. They have lost ten times by three goals or more since 2017...
It has been coming for a long time where they find themselves now. They are at rock bottom...
You always associate Barcelona with having those special players at the top end of the pitch. Right now because of the financial situation they have Memphis Depay, who is a good player but in the past would be nowhere near Barcelona. You end up having to bring players in who are not up to the level of Barcelona.
Defensively they are still relying on Pique. When they lost that game 8-2 (to Bayern Munich), Pique as a player almost nearly resigned after the game, said that if people didn't want him to play he wouldn't play.
Him and Busquets are still the best options for them in those positions. That's the problem. You can't be critical of those players, they are legendary figures at that club, but they have got no help around them and have been allowed to play for too long...
When (Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs) were getting towards the end of their careers and in their mid-30s, Alex Ferguson would drop them in and out of the team at certain times or bring them on at certain times, use that experience. It still feels like these two have to play every game.
Pique and Busquets were integral components in the dominant Barcelona sides of the past, but at 34 and 33 respectively, they are no longer in their primes.
Xavi will have a big job on his hands to get this current group up to scratch.
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