Rio Ferdinand - 'Barcelona have ‘five or six players not fit to wear the shirt'

Barcelona’s first-team squad is currently filled with ‘five or six players not fit to wear the shirt’, believes Rio Ferdinand.

The La Liga giants were humbled by Juventus in the Champions League on Tuesday night, losing 3-0 in the first leg of their quarter-final clash.

Paulo Dybala scored twice within the first 22 minutes before centre-back Giorgio Chiellini secured the victory with a header in the second half, leaving the Blaugrana with another mountain to climb in Europe’s elite club competition.

Ferdinand told BT Sport:

                         "There are a lot of players here that couldn’t have got into this Barcelona team three years ago".

“There’s too many names to mention. Five or six of this team should even be putting on the shirt, because the way that they played, the intensity, the quality was not on the same planet.
“These are the players who really have to feed the front three and they’re not getting the ball to them quick enough.
“Defensively, they don’t have any individuals that want to defend and collectively they’re not doing it.
“This team doesn’t press like the one under Pep Guardiola. I know it’s a new manager but they did for a little period of time. These guys look like they don’t have any idea or desire to want to press.”

Barcelona overcame a 4-0 deficit against Paris Saint-Germain from the first leg of their Round of 16 tie by winning 6-1 in the reverse fixture at the Nou Camp.

They will need a similar turnaround when they host Juventus on Tuesday 18 April, however, the Old Lady have only conceded two goals in the competition this season.

Luis Enrique’s men are the top scorers (26) in the Champions League, though, and will welcome key midfielder Sergio Busquets back into the team having been suspended for the game in Turin.