Burning: Manchester United, Ajax, Barcelona, and Napoli. Football Celebrities Accumulate Failures

Almost every club below has had minor successes this year. It's odd to go through all twelve months with nothing but failures, especially when talking about the richest teams in the world and in specific leagues. However, if we consider the new season, for every success, they face numerous setbacks.

Ajax

A series of scandals and managerial resignations have led the recent champions of the Netherlands into the relegation zone. Changing the coach allowed them to climb a bit in the standings – Ajax is fifth, but it's an illusion of success. The team from Amsterdam is 23 points behind PSV at the top of the table, a real chasm. The Champions League also seems unlikely, unless one of the favorites collapses. Ajax, the 23rd team in the UEFA ranking, has missed the European cups for the first time in 14 years. With such performance, they don't stand a chance in serious international matches. Understandably, it's easier to make a leap forward in the Dutch championship than in the Premier League, with far fewer competitors. Yet Ajax is still in crisis, having recently been knocked out of the Dutch Cup by an amateur club from the fourth division. The team, once a regular in the decisive stages of European competitions, is now a shadow of its former self.

Chelsea

Here's the entire Champions League winner, having beaten Manchester City in the final a couple of years ago. But then Chelsea changed owners. Without Abramovich, luck doesn't seem to be on their side. Boehly and his partners spent a fortune on newcomers, over a billion euros, and the Londoners will be paying off for players who haven't performed well for many years. The 'aristocrats' have 19 defeats in the Premier League over the year, the worst result of the last twelve months. Chelsea is not playing in the European cups. Numerous injuries raise questions about the club's medical and coaching staff. Even if all the troubles are the result of fatal bad luck, how can one explain the choice of head coaches? They missed with Potter and then brought in another person without a championship core. Pochettino will find it hard to last till the end of the season with such performance, and the Argentine might be fired.

Sevilla

The Europa League winners – they beat Roma in the final penalty shootout but finished the last Spanish championship poorly, in 11th place. But who could have thought that this was just the beginning? Significantly, the Andalusian club scored as many points in La Liga this spring as Girona. Now the Catalan team is sharing the first place with Real Madrid, while Sevilla, with Sergio Ramos, is three points away from the direct relegation zone, in 16th place. Sevilla has had four coaches in a year. Sampaoli replaced Mendilibar, then Diego Alonso took over, and now Sanchez Flores is appointed. The chaos is easy to explain. Last summer, the club's bosses fell out with sports director Monchi. The famous specialist was sacked, and Aston Villa picked him up. Together with former Sevilla coach Emery, the experienced director is in the top four in the Premier League, while his native Spanish team disappoints despite the 'standard' Europa League win.

Manchester United

Another of England's richest clubs, like Chelsea. Manchester United is doing slightly better in the Premier League, but there's a risk of missing out on the Champions League zone. Sir Jim Ratcliffe has been added to the list of owners of Manchester United. But that doesn't mean all troubles are behind them. The club, revived by coach Ferguson, is in a strange state ten years after the Scot's retirement. They finished last in their Champions League group, although they didn't play in a 'group of death' like Newcastle. The 'Red Devils' have long stopped fighting for second place in the Premier League. In the past, Mourinho at a press conference long listed the failures of his predecessors at Manchester United, and now the list of failures has expanded thanks to Ten Hag. Should Eric be fired? The results of the winter matches will show, but the team is playing poorly, losing so frequently for the first time in 93 years. Onana and Højlund are among the unsuccessful purchases in the Premier League.

Barcelona

Let's move on to those who have something to boast about, at least partially. Don't forget Xavi's championship, but in the new season, Barcelona is lower in the table than their neighbors from Girona. This is a disgrace. And if you add the quality of football, there is a reason to gossip about a new coach instead of Xavi. The team is behind Hernandez, he's been lucky. But Tuchel also had locker room support at PSG, which didn't save the German from being fired. Barcelona could have lost their coach if they hadn't made it to the Champions