<\/p>\n
Neymar spent four years at Barcelona following his move from Santos in 2013 and became one of the best players in the world, so replacing him was always going to be a difficult task.<\/strong><\/p>\n The Brazil international joined PSG in a world-record deal in 2017 and Barcelona reinvested that money in five new signings that summer.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve taken a look at how those five players have fared over the last four years.<\/span><\/p>\n Dembele\u00a0was signed as a like-for-like replacement for Neymar and was the most expensive of the five arrivals that summer, costing an initial\u00a0\u00a396.8million from Borussia Dortmund.<\/span><\/p>\n The France international was regarded as\u00a0one\u00a0of Europe\u2019s brightest young talents i<\/span>njury problems have plagued his time at the Camp Nou and the 25-year-old was often criticised throughout his first four and a half years at the club for tardiness and a perceived lack of commitment.<\/span><\/p>\n He started to rediscover his best form during 2020-21, however, and was rewarded with a new contract in the summer.<\/p>\n Considering his form in 2022-23, it seems Xavi is the manager to finally get the best out of the French winger.<\/p>\n The fact that Paulinho is probably the biggest success story on this list is a damning indictment of Barcelona\u2019s 2017 summer transfer window.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Eyebrows were raised when Barcelona signed the former Tottenham flop from Chinese side Guangzhou Evergrande for \u00a336million.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Despite struggling with\u00a0keepie-uppies at his unveiling, the\u00a0midfielder silenced his doubters and\u00a0scored nine goals in 49 appearances as Barcelona completed a league and cup double in 2017-18.<\/p>\n He\u00a0rejoined Guangzhou Evergrande after that solitary season\u00a0in Spain and picked up his third Chinese Super League title in 2019.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The 33-year-old was released from his contract by mutual consent in 2021 and joined Saudi Arabian side Al-Ahli on a free transfer. He terminated his contract there after only a few months and is now back in Brazil with Corinthians.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n READ:\u00a0Ranking Barcelona\u2019s 16 weirdest signings so far this millennium<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Having impressed at Benfica, Semedo joined Barcelona in a \u20ac30million deal\u00a0and\u00a0was initially billed as\u00a0Dani Alves\u2019 long-term successor.<\/p>\n The right-back made 124 appearances in all competitions during his time at the club, winning two La Liga titles and a Copa del Rey.<\/p>\n But he was heavily criticised for his performances in 2019-20 and had\u00a0his pants pulled down by Alphonso Davies in that<\/em> 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich.<\/a><\/p>\n Barcelona were surprisingly still able to recoup their money, selling him to Wolves for\u00a0an initial \u00a327.6million that could rise to \u00a336.6million.<\/span><\/p>\n Semedo\u00a0endured a difficult debut season as Wolves finished 13th in the Premier League but started to kick on under his Portuguese compatriot Bruno Lage.<\/span><\/p>\n He had hamstring surgery in the summer of 2022, but returned to the side after the World Cup and will play a crucial role in their survival bid.<\/p>\n We still can\u2019t really work Deulofeu out.\u00a0<\/span>The La Masia academy graduate had\u00a0loan spells at Everton and Sevilla before joining the former on a permanent deal in 2015.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Barcelona decided to trigger the option to re-sign him in 2017, only to hand the winger just 10 La Liga appearances during his second spell at Camp Nou.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n After Philippe\u00a0Coutinho joined the club in January 2018, he was deemed surplus to requirements and returned to the Premier League with Watford.<\/p>\n The Spain international\u00a0went on to become a fan-favourite at Vicarage Road but joined Serie A side Udinese following Watford\u2019s relegation to the Championship in 2020.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This goal will never get old \ud83d\ude31<\/p>\n More FA Cup magic from Gerard Deulofeu tomorrow? \ud83d\udc1dpic.twitter.com\/xWfsY2wmln<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 GOAL (@goal) May 17, 2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Marlon initially joined Barcelona\u00a0on a one-year loan from Fluminense in 2016, making three senior appearances but mainly featuring for their B team.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The centre-back\u00a0impressed enough to earn a permanent switch worth \u20ac5million,\u00a0only to then be sent to Nice for the 2017-18 campaign.<\/span><\/p>\n He was sold to Sassuolo for\u00a0\u20ac6million in 2018 and made 66 appearances for the Serie A side before joining\u00a0Shakhtar Donetsk three years later. In 2022, he moved back to Italy with Monza owing to Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMy stage in Barcelona was wonderful,\u201d Marlon told Sport in April 2021. \u201cI only have good memories. I arrived at a very young age and the club bet strongly on me. At Barca B I was taught a lot, as well as when I climbed to the first team of Luis Enrique.\u201d<\/p>\n READ NEXT: Outscoring Messi & winning it all: A tribute to Thierry Henry at Barcelona<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n TRY A QUIZ:\u00a0Can you name Barca\u2019s top \u2018not Messi\u2019 scorer for every season since 2000?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\nOusmane Dembele<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Paulinho<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Nelson Semedo<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Gerard Deulofeu<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
Marlon Santos<\/strong><\/h3>\n