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Stronger than ever? Last season’s UCL failure inspired spending spree at Barca

Defeat to Atletico in the quarterfinals of last year's competition convinced Luis Enrique he needed a bigger squad and more depth.

Nothing was working for Barcelona. With Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar looking tired after the international break and the sheer amount of games played in 2015-16, the Catalans were unable to find a way past Atletico at the Vicente Calderon, and their dream of retaining the Champions League was over.

Luis Enrique looked to his bench, but there was little in the way of inspiration. There was Arda Turan (still struggling in his first season), Sergi Roberto (a utility player), Munir El Haddadi, Marc Bartra, Adriano and Douglas.