From the highs of the last two trebles to the lows of the Europa League, Barca are no longer among the elite of the competition
For the first time in more than 20 years, Barca have faced a Champions League group stage knockout stage. Fans will have to get used to the strangeness of Thursday night's game, a game the club hasn't played in since it was renamed europa league.
The change will be the first of many as new coach Xavi saw the required rebuilding scale at the chilly Allianz stadium on Wednesday night.
The cold truth is that this could be Barca's last Wednesday night appointment in Europe for some time as they battle for the top four in La Liga and qualify for next season's Champions League.
Bayern Munich's 3-0 win is just the latest punch; the Catalans are reaping the seeds of their past few seasons, with former president Josep Maria Bartomeu to blame. How did Barca get to this point? "Management, it's that simple," Gerald Pique said Tuesday.
It was disgraceful that Bartomeu had brought the club to the brink of a financial, economic and institutional crisis, and now the situation is only getting worse, with the club's budget accounting for revenue from reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
With this cancellation, hopes of signing in January remain slim, and the club's hopes of raising €1.5 billion (£1.3 billion/$1.7 billion) for their new Espai Barca project could also be undermined.
Xavi made a grimace at the touchline and there was nothing he could do about the power bayern had casually displayed, and despite his positive attitude towards the club's chances, there was always the possibility of being eliminated.
The 3-0 win over Bayern and Benfica earlier in the group stage gave Barcelona a tough challenge, exacerbated by the many injuries they suffered.
However, with Osman Dembele creating opportunities in the penalty area in the first half, the club decided to sign him instead of Kellian Mbappe by 2017, when they were cash-rich due to Neymar's sale to Paris Saint-Germain.
Kylian Mbappe, who played for Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night, could join Real Madrid after his contract expires this summer and pour salt on Barcelona's wounds. The record signing of Philippe Coutinho on the bench in the second half was ineffective. He did much more damage on loan at Bayern, scoring twice in the 2020 Lisbon 8-2 fiasco.
Due to financial difficulties, the club lost their greatest player of all time, Lionel Messi, while Luis Suarez and Antoine Griezmann were forced to leave for similar reasons. All three will be in the final 16th place and will likely turn on their TV on Thursday night to see how their old colleagues fare in second class in Europe.
Some of them may not last long. Xavi is delighted to have the opportunity to coach some of his former team-mates, including Pique and Jordi Alba, but both have suffered in Munich. The former was ridiculed by Robert Lewandowski for his first goal, while the latter withdrew due to injury, which is an ongoing problem for left-backs.
When Mueller returned home, Clement Langlett and Oscar Mingeza were clumsy on both feet and weren't enough to compete at this level.
Mark-Andre Ter Stegen was responsible for the second goal, which left Leroy Sane's long-range shot a mess, and the German goalkeeper was far from his peak form in 2017.
Sergino Dest looked disoriented on the right wing and was hooked at half-time, leaving only Ronald Araujo as a reliable defender.
Uruguayans are impressive even if the people around are torn apart, but rebuilding the rest of the defense will take time. And this attack, like in the post-Messi era, was meaningless.
While it is possible to train defenders to play in barcelona style to some extent, La Masia has never regularly developed good strikers. Barcelona has set its sights elsewhere, bringing in Neymar, Suarez, Samuel Eto'o, Ronaldinho and others. They will also not be able to sign players of that level for the foreseeable future.
One positive factor worth sticking to is the progress of their young midfielders Gavi, Pedri and Nico Gonzalez, although some Of the European giants may test Barcelona's resolve with offers in the summer – teams that may be more attractive than the Catalans, perhaps for the first time ever, and with tumbleweeds in their bank accounts, some at the club may be tempted.
From the dizzying heights of winning the treble twice, to the relegation of the Europa League, Barcelona's decline has been rapid, self-inflicted and humiliating.