Barcelona’s form in recent weeks has raised several eyebrows. It is clear that the team are far from their best, and the recent run of results emphasises the same.
The Catalans’ rut began with the defeat to Girona early in December before they went on to embarrassingly lose to Royal Antwerp in the UEFA Champions League.
They dropped points in their third consecutive game through a draw with Valencia before scraping past Almeria thanks to a Sergi Roberto brace.
Most recently, the Blaugranas came out second best against Club America in a friendly organised at Dallas.
A pre-decided deal
As revealed by SPORT, the Catalan squad returned to Barcelona on Friday and are currently on a six-day Christmas break.
They will return to training only on the 29th of December, although the initial date of restart was set to be the 28th.
The one-day bonus, as relayed by the Spanish outlet, is because of a deal pre-agreed between Xavi and his team.
The manager declared that if his side took all three points against both Atletico Madrid and Porto, he would grant them an extra day of vacation for Christmas.
It is not a novel idea, for the coach often sets such targets with incentives to push the team and encourage them to play at their best level.
The team did manage to meet the clause, although with an unexpected drop in form subsequently. The extra day off may thus appear unwarranted considering their last four games, but it was earned and agreed upon well in advance.
Break well deserved?
At first glance, it appears undeserved for a team in indifferent form to be granted a privilege like an extra day off.
Yet, it is vital to factor in the fact that Barcelona travelled to the United States of America hours after the game against Almeria, took part in a friendly fixture, and took the long flight back home.
It is only just that the men in garnet and blue enjoy the prolonged vacation and regroup for the new year. After all, it is one of their only breaks with no club or international football planned.