Should Barcelona have kept Fabregas and sold Iniesta instead?

COMMENT: While Cesc has been a revelation on his return to the Premier League with Chelsea, his former team-mate looks out of sorts in Luis Enrique's side at Camp Nou

When Barcelona's best midfielder is a surprise inclusion on the 23-man shortlist for the Ballon d'Or, it is evident things are not quite as they were at Camp Nou.

Andres Iniesta was nominated for the prestigious individual prize on Tuesday, and on Monday night the 30-year-old received the trophy for 'Best Attacking Midfielder' in La Liga last season at the LFP awards. Earlier in October, he also claimed the Golden Foot gong for his contribution to football.

Iniesta's impact on the game as part of the best Barcelona team in history and the superb Spain side which dominated international football between 2008 and 2012 is undoubted, yet his current contribution is under question following a slow start to the season and a poor performance in Saturday's Clasico defeat to Real Madrid.

In the meantime, former Barca midfielder Cesc Fabregas is in fantastic form at Chelsea this term and has become the most important player for Jose Mourinho's Premier League leaders. After three turbulent seasons at Camp Nou, the 27-year-old is back to his best and putting in the kind of performances he was expected to produce at his hometown club.

So did Barcelona sell the wrong midfielder last summer? Should the Catalans have kept Fabregas and sold Iniesta instead?

Iniesta has shown glimpses this season of his brilliant best, setting up Lionel Messi for two lovely goals in the Champions League games against Ajax and Paris Saint-Germain recently and almost scoring a special one himself as he glided past several defenders before seeing a shot saved versus the Dutch champions last week.

But the 30-year-old hs been heavily criticised in Barcelona following his disappointing display in Saturday's Clasico, when he not only failed to make an impression in attack but also gifted the crucial third goal to Madrid with a careless misplaced pass on the halfway line when he should have cleared.

Although an admirer of the technical abilities of his former Barca team-mate, Luis Enrique wants more intensity from Iniesta as he looks to reinvent the Blaugrana this term. On Saturday, he got neither and a calf injury now means the midfielder is sidelined for three weeks.

"After [Lionel] Messi, Iniesta is our most inventive player," Luis Enrique said in July. "He's like Harry Potter: one, two, three and whoosh, he's past the player, like he has a magic wand."

Back in a three-man midfield with Xavi and Sergio Busquets on Saturday, however, that magic was kept well under wraps by Madrid at the Bernabeu. Xavi, at 34, struggles when his team are without the ball against top teams, while Busquets is currently troubled with a number of fitness concerns which have taken their toll on his performances this term.

Summer signing Ivan Rakitic has given Barca more mobility in midfield and alongside the Croat, Iniesta should have more license to play his natural game. A yard slower these days and approaching the twilight of his career, the 30-year-old now has to prove he can be a success in Luis Enrique's new-look Barca.

Fabregas never got that chance. The former Arsenal captain played under three different coaches (Pep Guardiola, Tito Vilanova and Gerardo Martino) in his time at Camp Nou and was promised a pivotal role under each.

However, La Masia's graduate was rarely included in the Catalans' first-choice midfield and found himself moved around as he played either as a false nine, a forward out wide or an 'interior'.

"I didn't talk to Luis Enrique," Cesc said after his departure. "I informed the club a week after losing the league. I felt I was doing Barca a favour."

Barca needed to fund their summer spree which included the signing of Luis Suarez from Liverpool, but Cesc's characteristics and his age (27) make him much more suitable to Barca's current midfield than Iniesta.

With 10 assists from 12 games in all competitions this season, Fabregas is thriving under Mourinho at Stamford Bridge. Deployed at the base of midfield by the Portuguese coach, Cesc's vision has been instrumental in the Blues' brilliant start to the season.

Given the freedom he never had at Camp Nou, he has re-established himself as one of the most effective creative midfielders in Europe. He has struck up an instant chemistry with Eden Hazard and Diego Costa, consistently picking out Chelsea's attackers with his remarkable range of passing while also providing a goal threat himself.

Just as Iniesta became Barca's most effective midfielder as Xavi went past 30, Fabregas now looks to be hitting his peak as Andres slows down. Dispensing with Iniesta would have seemed unthinkable, but Cesc's contribution this term shows he should have also been kept on. And if anything, Barca probably did sell the wrong midfielder last summer.

Source: Goal.com