Journalist Pol Ballus has reported via The Athletic that a go-karting incident involving several Barcelona players caused a big problem among the board, who now thinks that the reason behind the current run of form is that the players are not training enough.

Following Barcelona’s 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid, the team decided to enjoy a two-day break. Upon their return to training, the coaching staff organized a karting event to boost team morale. 

Soon after that, the Blaugrana lost to Girona in a crushing defeat which happens to be the main cause of concern. 

“We were defeated by a team that played our style of football and did it wonderfully,” a source close to Barcelona told The Athletic.

Girona defeat added fuel to the fire

Had Barcelona emerged victorious against Girona in the derby, the controversy surrounding the aforementioned outing might not have escalated within the board. This eventually resulted in the board questioning the team’s training regime.

Responding to the claim, the coaching staff does not believe that inadequate training is to blame for the team’s performance against Girnoa. 

They argued that over the last 84 days, excluding international breaks, players engaged in training sessions on 57 occasions and participated in match routines on 19 days, with a mere eight days designated as rest days.

The result was Laporta’s intervention

When Barcelona initially announced the travelling contingent for the away match against Royal Antwerp in the UEFA Champions League, several first team players including Ronald Araujo, Robert Lewandowski, Frenkie de Jong and Ilkay Gundogan were left out of the team.

However, a squad alteration occurred on Tuesday, announced a few moments before the team’s scheduled departure to Belgium. Interestingly enough, Araujo, Lewandowski, and Gundogan were all reinstated to the lineup.

Senior club insiders have verified that this development transpired due to direct intervention by club president Joan Laporta. 

His determination to ensure the reintegration of senior players into the team came significantly from a belief that the squad should not adopt a relaxed attitude during challenging periods, particularly in the aftermath of a 2-4 defeat to Girona.