It was the 4th January 2015 and Luis Enrique had dropped Lionel Messi and Neymar for the trip to the Anoeta. Messi came on at half time and Neymar after 58 minutes but it wasn't enough as La Real held on for a famous victory over Barca in what would surely be the final game of Luis Enrique's reign at the Catalan club.
The team was broken, Messi and Enrique couldn't get along and something would have to give and it was never going to be Messi. Luis Enrique had told Neymar and Messi they could have a few extra days off with their families over the Christmas period back in South America but he had failed to tell them those extra few days would cost them their place in the starting lineup against La Real.
Things got worse when Messi failed to turn up for training the following day with the official reason being given as he was suffering with 'gastroenteritis' but nobody was buying it and it seemed clear that there was a huge split in the Barcelona dressing room. With tensions at an all time high it was left to club captain and legend, Xavi Hernandez to bring peace to the situation. Xavi had reportedly had his own historic issues with Enrique but they had agreed to bury the hatchet in the summer to keep Xavi at the club for one more year when he had been on the verge of a move to New York. Xavi managed to restore peace for the time being at least although the media weren't helping things with constant talk of Messi moving to Chelsea or Manchester City and Luis Enrique on the verge of being sacked.
Elections announced
Xavi may have saved the day on the pitch but there was still room for more controversy off it when Andoni Zubizaretta was sacked from his role as Sporting Director which led Carlos Puyol to leave his role as Zubizaretta's deputy in protest. Things were imploding on and off the pitch and to round off what had been a nightmarish few days club president Josip Maria Bartomeu announced that he would bring elections, that were initially due to take place in 2016, forward a year until the summer of this year.
Many Cules are critical of Bartomeu and believe elections should have been called when Sandro Rosell left the club over the Neymar scandal but instead his deputy, Bartomeu, took the presidency. The members will decide on Bartomeu's future this summer but to his credit the decision to announce elections at the end of the season allowed a line to be drawn under the problems for the short term and the club could get back to the football and leave the rest to the summer.
Back on the pitch and next up for Barcelona was a Copa del Rey clash against Elche which saw Messi and Neymar back in the starting lineup alongside Gerard Pique and Dani Alves who had also missed the defeat to La Real. It was a routine win in the end with Messi scoring a penalty and Neymar scoring two in a 5-0 win for the Catalans but there was a tougher task ahead with Atletico due at the Nou Camp for a big league clash.
Real Madrid had won on the Saturday to move four points clear at the top of La Liga so Barca and Atletico both knew this was a must win match as Real would have a game in hand on both sides after their Sunday evening meeting. As it was Barcelona were superb on the night and ran out 3-1 winners thanks to goals from Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar to ensure the club stayed within a point of Real at the top of La Liga.
Elche were beaten 4-0 in the Copa del Rey second leg by an under strength team before a Messi hat trick helped the Catalans to a 4-0 win away to Deportivo La Coruna. Next up would be the Copa del Rey quarter-finals against Atletico who had knocked out Real in the previous round.
Copa del Rey win over Atleti
A late Messi goal gave Barcelona a narrow advantage going into the second leg and despite going 1-0 down to a Fernando Torres goal in the opening minute of the second leg two Neymar goals and a Miranda own goal gave Barcelona a 3-2 win at the Calderon and a place in the semi-finals.
Between those two Atletico games there was an away trip to take on Elche which Barcelona won 6-0 thanks to goals from Messi (2), Neymar (2), Pique and Pedro for their third league win in a row and they made that four in a row with a tight 3-2 win over Villarreal.
Despite Barcelona's good form they were still behind Real Madrid and the gap increased to four points on the 4th February when Real won their game in hand against Sevilla to strengthen their position at the top of La Liga.
That four point gap didn't last long though as Real were thrashed 4-0 by Atletico at the Calderon which gave Barca the opportunity to get back to within a point if they could beat Athletic Bilbao. Messi, Neymar, Pedro and Suarez all scored as Barcelona won 5-2 at the San Mames to get themselves right back in the title race.
A few days later it was back to Copa del Rey action with Barca recording a 3-1 semi-final first leg win over Villarreal before another Messi hat trick and goals from Neymar and Suarez gave them a 5-0 La Liga win over Levante.
Things were going well for Barcelona with the team winning eleven games in a row in all competitions and with Malaga next up at home it was expected that they would continue that run. It wasn't to be though and Malaga produced a superb performance to win 1-0 and hand the initiative back to Real who moved four points ahead with a win over Elche.
It was Champions League time next and Barcelona were off to Manchester to take on City. Barcelona were dominant in the first half with two Suarez goals giving them a 2-0 lead. City came back into it in the second half with Sergio Aguero getting a goal back and Joe Hart saving a late Messi penalty to keep the English side in the tie at 2-1 down.
There would be three weeks between the two Manchester City ties and it turned out to be one of the most important periods in the season. On the Saturday after the trip to the Etihad Barca had a comfortable 3-1 win over Granada and on the Sunday Real could only manage a draw at home to Villarreal which meant Barca were back within two points at the top of the table.
Two Neymar goals and a Suarez effort saw them secure a place in the final of the Copa del Rey after beating Villarreal 6-2 on aggregate after two 3-1 wins but it was the weekends results that caused the biggest stir. Real were beat 1-0 at the San Mames by Athletic which meant a Barcelona win at home to Rayo Vallecano would see them go top of La Liga. Yet another Messi hat trick, two from Suarez and a Pique goal saw them win 6-1 to go a point clear of their rivals.
Messi scored twice the week after in a 2-0 win over Eibar before Ivan Rakitic got the only goal of the game as Barcelona beat Manchester City to secure a place in the last eight of the Champions League ahead of a crucial El Classico.
Victory in the Classico
Jeremy Mathieu gave the hosts the lead before Cristiano Ronaldo leveled for Real. Real were enjoying a real spell of dominance in the game when Suarez latched onto a sublime long ball from Alves before slotting past Iker Casillas to score what ended up being the winning goal as Barca went four points clear at the top of La Liga.
After the international break Barca were pushed all the way by Celta Vigo before a late Mathieu goal earned the Catalans a 1-0 win. That midweek saw another win, this time 4-0 at home to Almeria with goals from Suarez (2), Messi and Marc Bartra.
Barca went 2-0 up against Sevilla thanks to goals from Messi and Neymar but they allowed the Andalusian side to fight back and earn a 2-2 draw which saw the gap at the top of the table reduced to two points thanks to Real's 3-0 win over Eibar.
Next up would be the Champions League quarter-final against Paris Saint Germain with both legs falling six days apart and Valencia coming to the Nou Camp in between. Barca started with a 3-1 win over PSG in Paris with goals from Suarez (2) and Neymar before a first minute goal from Suarez and a last minute goal from Messi saw them beat Valencia 2-0. PSG were beaten 2-0 in the second leg thanks to goals from Neymar as Luis Enrique's side earned a place in the Champions League semi-finals.
The Champions League last four pitted Barcelona against former manager Pep Guardiola which dominated all the headlines in the build up but before that game there were three La Liga games to be played first. Neymar and Messi goals saw them beat Espanyol 2-0 in the Derbi Barceloni before they thrashed Getafe 6-0 with Messi (2), Suarez (2), Neymar and Xavi on the score sheet. That 6-0 win was bettered just four days later when Barcelona beat Cordoba 8-0 (Suarez (3), Messi (2), Neymar, Rakitic, Pique) in Andalusia to give the side a huge confidence boost ahead of the visit of Guardiola's Bayern Munich.
Guardiola's return
The clash with Bayern was a tight affair for the opening 77 minutes as both teams had chances but failed to take them and the game looked to be heading towards a goalless finish when Messi came to life. Two goals in three minutes, including a sublime solo effort, put Barca 2-0 up before Neymar took advantage of Bayern looking for an away goal to break away and score a third in stoppage time as Barcelona put one foot in the Champions League Final with a 3-0 win.
Once again Barcelona would play a tough league match between two Champions League matches that would fall six days apart and again it was a 2-0 win for Enrique's men. Neymar and Pedro got the goals to put Barcelona five points clear at the top of La Liga with Real scheduled to play Valencia just minutes after the Barcelona game ended. First half goals from Paco Alcacer and Javi Fuego put Valencia 2-0 up before goals from Pepe and Ronaldo got Los Blancos back into the game but they couldn't get another and Barcelona would now require one win from their last two league games to secure the La Liga title.
In typical Barcelona fashion there would be drama before the club could clinch the title with a possible strike set to cancel out the last two weeks of the La Liga season. Before the club could worry about that they would have to negotiate the second leg of the Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich. Bayern made a good start and Mehdi Benatia put them ahead early on. Momentum looked to be with the German side but it only lasted a few minutes before Neymar scored twice to effectively end the game as a contest. Bayern scored twice in the second half to win 3-2 on the night but they would have needed another three goals to go through and they never really got enough pressure on Barcelona to make that same likely.
Winning La Liga
The strike action was called off after a court hearing which meant Barcelona would get the opportunity to get revenge on Atletico Madrid by winning the league title at the Calderon one year after Atleti had won the title at the Nou Camp. It was a tight affair at the Calderon with Barca dominant throughout but Atletico defended well and it was left to a piece of magic from Messi to separate the sides. The Argentine linked up well with Neymar before scoring into Jan Oblak's bottom left hand corner. That would be the only goal of the game and it was quite fitting that Messi, who had been sublime since the fallout in early January, got the goal that won the league for Luis Enrique's side.
With the league secured a week early many might have expected a quiet week at the Nou Camp ahead of the title celebrations but it was never going to be that way and the news that many expected and feared came when the legend, Xavi Hernandez announced he would be leaving the club. Xavi is arguably the best midfielder of his generation and the announcement allowed the Nou Camp to pay tribute to the club captain in his last league game.
The game finished 2-2 after Barca gave away a two goal lead but for Barca it was all about Xavi and lifting the league trophy although the draw meant Deportivo avoided relegation to the Segunda.
Copa del Rey success
With one trophy in the bag it was time for Barcelona to attempt to secure the Spanish league and cup double. Athletic Bilbao were the opponents at a packed Nou Camp that had 40,000 Athletic fans in the stands. Whilst the split crowd made for an excellent atmosphere it made little difference on the park as Barca blew their Basque opponents away. Messi scored a spectacular solo goal to open the scoring before Neymar and a second Messi goal put the Catalans three goals to the good. Inaki Williams got a consolation for Athletic but it wasn't enough as Barcelona won 3-1 to go one game away from a remarkable treble.
Treble secured
The Champions League Final would take place in Berlin and the opponents would be Serie A and Coppa Italia winners Juventus who were also looking to complete the treble. Barcelona completely dominated the first half but they were only 1-0 up at the break courtesy of a Rakitic goal and some excellent goalkeeping from Gianluigi Buffon. Juventus came out like a different team in the second half and equalised through former Real Madrid striker, Alvaro Morata. The Italian side looked to be in control and the dreams of a second treble for Barcelona were looking unlikely until Luis Suarez latched onto the rebound after Buffon stopped a Messi shot to give Enrique's side the lead. Juve pushed forward for an equaliser and were caught out with the last kick of the game when Neymar finished a counter attack to put the gloss on a 3-1 win and secure a famous treble.
Many pundits will now compare this team to Guardiola's treble winning side which is only natural but it is almost impossible to compare the two. Guardiola's side were not as direct as this side which suited that team at that time while Enrique's front three operate best on the counter attack. Both sides were excellent in their own right and proved themselves to be the best team in the world that season.
With the on the field issues resolved in style attention will now turn to what is happening off the pitch. Elections are due this summer although Bartomeu has not confirmed the date yet and Luis Enrique's future has once again come into question with the coach refusing to commit his future to the club in post match interviews after the Champions League win.
Those issues will undoubtedly be resolved one way or another this summer but for many Cules all that really matters is what happens on the pitch and once again Barcelona have put boardroom arguments behind them to be crowned champions of Europe. Messi, Suarez and Neymar will all be at the club next season and unless someone can find a way to stop them what happens off the pitch won't stop Barcelona finding success on it.