Barca made a big mistake with Cucurella

Cucurella shone brightly when blocking Yamal in Chelsea's 3-0 win over Barcelona.

From a young talent who was pushed away, Cucurella is now a mainstay of Chelsea, having just won the title of Best Player of the Match when he "locked down" Lamine Yamal, contributing greatly to the "The Blues" overwhelming 3-0 victory over Barcelona in the early morning of November 26.

Let's go back to the summer of 2020. When Jordi Alba needed a left-back, Barcelona had two options: keep Marc Cucurella - a La Masia product who had just shone at Eibar, or recruit Junior Firpo from Real Betis for 18 million euros.

Barca's board chose Firpo, and at the same time sold Cucurella to Getafe for only 12 million euros (after buying him back from Eibar for only 4 million euros). This decision a few years later became a typical image of strategic error.

After joining Barca, Firpo only played 21 La Liga matches in two seasons (2019/20 and 2020/21), scoring 2 goals and contributing to the Copa del Rey championship. However, he failed to convince coach Ronald Koeman or Xavi, and was pushed to Leeds United in 2021 for 15 million euros.

Firpo has had his ups and downs in the Premier League. He helped Leeds stay in the 2021/22 season, but saw the team relegated to the Championship in 2023. Despite his good form in the 2024/25 Championship (4 goals, 10 assists, helping them gain promotion), he left for free in the summer of 2025, returning to Real Betis.

Now, at 29, Firpo is just a rotation option at Betis. He has played 8 La Liga games this season (1 goal), but rarely started and has only had a few minutes in Europe. His career has not been as successful as expected. And now, Firpo represents the Dominican Republic instead of Spain.

Meanwhile, Cucurella has grown to become one of the best left-backs in the world today.

Cucurella continues to prove why he is one of the most annoying defenders in the world.

Cucurella exploded after leaving Barca. At Getafe (2020-2022), he played 76 games, scored 4 goals and became a mainstay under coach Jose Bordalas. In 2022, Brighton recruited him for 18 million euros, and Cucurella quickly became a star. He plays versatilely (left-back, winger), contributing to the journey to the top 6 of the Premier League in the 2022/23 season.

Chelsea did not hesitate to spend 65 million euros (possibly up to 70 million) to bring him back in the summer of 2022, despite initially being criticized for the high price.

Under Enzo Maresca, Cucurella "transformed" to become Chelsea's number 1 left-back, winning the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. He is a mainstay of the Spanish national team, starting at left-back in their journey to win Euro 2024.

Cucurella was the hero of Chelsea's 3-0 win over Barca. He kept Yamal at bay, contributed to the opening goal, and even earned Ronald Araujo a second red card for a rough foul in the 42nd minute.

Marca believes that Barca's sale of Cucurella for 12 million euros to buy Firpo for 18 million euros was one of the club's biggest mistakes in the past half decade. It is an expensive lesson for La Masia and Barca on how to retain or promote talented people.

Chelsea's three goals against Barcelona In the early morning of November 26, Chelsea crushed Barcelona with a score of 3-0 in the 2025/26 Champions League qualifying round.

Source: https://znews.vn/barca-sai-lam-lon-voi-cucurella-post1606192.html