Not even Barca are immune to time and tide

If a week can be a long time in politics, in football it can feel like an entire lifetime.

So it seems to some, with both Spanish giants dramatically knocked out of the Champions League, Barcelona conceding the title and Pep Guardiola announcing his departure.

It is not the scenario anybody envisaged at the turn of the year, when Barcelona reigned supreme, undisputed world champions after demolishing Santos 4-0, and Guardiola was being credited with creating the best team of all time.