After losing 5-1 on aggregate to Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup, Barcelona’s Gerard Pique made a shocking statement, saying this is the first time he’s felt “inferior” to their fierce rivals in his nine years at the club.

How did this happen?

Two years ago, the Catalans had conquered all before them in winning a second treble in club history.

Now, they’ve been dethroned as La Liga champions, seen PSG poach Neymar in a world-record transfer, and watched Los Blancos make history as the first side to win back-to-back Champions League titles.

Here are seven damning statistics that showcase the club’s decline.

€250 million FOR THREE TROPHIES

Where Barcelona used to buy shrewdly or, on occasion, shell out whatever was needed to bring a star player – Luis Suarez, Neymar, and Dani Alves being the most obvious examples – the transfer decisions made by the club in recent times have been questionable.

The club have spent over €250 million since winning the treble in 2015. They’ve won only three major trophies since then; La Liga in 2015/16 and the last two Copa del Rey titles.

Samuel Umtiti is the only recent purchase who has looked like he could be a success. The likes of Andre Gomes, Arda Turan, Aleix Vidal, Denis Suarez, Lucas Digne, and Paco Alcacer have yet to display the same level of quality, and while new right-back Nelson Semedo had a decent outing on Wednesday, fellow new signings Paulinho, Gerard Deulofeu, and Marlon Santos don’t seem altogether inspiring.

Unless Philippe Coutinho or Ousmane Dembele, or both, arrive, Barcelona’s transfer failings look set to continue.

OUT-PASSED BY MADRID

Possession has been an obsession for Barcelona ever since the Pep Guardiola days, and quite often, even when Madrid got the better of their rivals, the Catalans’ midfield would still dominate proceedings. But on Wednesday, a long streak ended:

Of those 31 games, Barcelona only won 15, which just goes to show that possession isn’t everything – but for the Catalan side, it is a matter of pride. However, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, and Matteo Kovacic – Casemiro, Madrid’s best defensive midfielder, was rested, which is damning in itself – brought Barcelona’s run to an end, and left no doubt as to which side has the better midfield.

FROM 7 TO 1 – THE DECLINE OF LA MASIA

In November 2012, Dani Alves went off injured early in a 4-0 win over Levante, and when he was replaced by Martin Montoya, Barcelona had a playing XI made up entirely of academy products. It was a proud moment, and served as a culmination of their philosophy.

Jordi Alba, Pique, Messi, and Sergio Busquets played that day. In 2012, they had seven academy products alongside them. On Wednesday, that number was down to one – Sergi Roberto.

Xavi and Carlos Puyol have retired, while Thiago Alcantara (who came on as a substitute that day), Cesc Fabregas, Pedro, Montoya, and Victor Valdes have been sold, and the replacements have largely not been from the academy.

Roberto is struggling to get playing time, as is fellow academy product Sergi Samper. No defender or midfielder has emerged to step into the shoes of Puyol or Xavi, and while there can hardly be complaints about Barca’s decision to buy Suarez and Neymar, even the back-up strikers are not from the academy at the moment. Football’s most famous talent pool has dried up.

FIRST EL CLASICO LOSING STREAK IN 8 YEARS

Ernesto Valverde has been unlucky in being handed a side in decline. One of his best players have been sold, and having to play Real Madrid twice in his first two competitive games as Barcelona manager hasn’t helped.

He now has an unwanted record. The last time Barcelona lost two straight matches to Madrid was in the 2007/08 season, when the Whites did the league double.

Frank Rijkaard was the manager then. After that, Pep Guardiola, Tito Villanova, and Luis Enrique came and went without ever losing two in a row to their bitter rivals. It’s not an auspicious start for Valverde.

30+ GOALS CONCEDED – DEFENSIVE FRAILTIES

The last two times Barcelona have failed to win the league, there’s been one common statistic: they’ve conceded more than 30 goals. It was 33 in 2013/14 and 37 last year, with two seasons of conceding 21 and 29 goals respectively sandwiched in between.

The 30-goal mark is not a magic number – Barca won the league in 2012/13 while conceding 40 – but it does serve as a good barometer of the team’s strength at the back.

Since the start of the 2008/09 season, Barcelona have won the league six times in nine seasons. In the three seasons they failed to win the league, they conceded more than 30 goals twice.

Last season was also the second straight season in which Barcelona conceded more goals than in the season before. It’s a trend that needs to be reversed if the club is to return to its high standards.

INIESTA’S DECREASING APPEARANCES

The last time Andres Iniesta played more than 30 league games was in the 2013/14 season. Since then, his total appearance numbers in La Liga reads: 24, 28, 23.

He is a once-in-a-generation player. Barcelona saw the upside of that, and now they’re seeing the downside. His declining appearances would not be as much of an issue if the team had a player who could step in and fill his role – but there is none.

Part of this is self-inflicted. While they’re different types of players, Fabregas and Thiago would have gone a long way in making sure Iniesta’s absence would not be felt as much, but both were let go. The sale of Thiago seems particularly galling, as he’s developed into one of the best midfielders in the world.

Ivan Rakitic seemed to be on his way to reaching that level, but hasn’t quite fulfilled that potential, and the early returns from Andres Gomes haven’t been far from promising. Meanwhile, Iniesta is only getting older.

THE IMPACT OF LOSING NEYMAR – ESPECIALLY ON MESSI

It goes without saying that Barcelona are a weaker team without one of the world’s best players. The Brazilian scored 105 goals and assisted a further 59 in 186 appearances for the club, and was involved in more assists (21) than any other La Liga-based player last season.

The most telling statistic, however, will be this: 22. That’s the number of times Neymar set up a goal for Messi. The number of players who topped that during Neymar’s time at the club? Zero.

Valverde will no doubt tweak his system to help get the best out of Messi and Suarez even in Neymar’s absence, but there’s simply no replacing a 25-year-old who was supposed to be the future of the club.