Damned if they win, damned if they don't. It's almost as if Barcelona can do no right when they face Alaves in the final of the Copa del Rey this weekend.
Winning the cup, some of the players have admitted themselves, will not cover up what has ultimately been a failed season, expectations not met. But lose and this team -- which lost the league on the final day by just three points and produced that incredible Champions League comeback against Paris Saint-Germain -- will be knocked by friends and foes.
That's not to take away the glory from the cup. Barca have won it in each of Luis Enrique's two seasons in charge so far and 28 times in total, more than any other side in Spain. It won't provide the send off Luis Enrique would have ideally wanted but it will send him away with a trophy in his final game, which is fitting considering he will have helped the Blaugrana to nine in total in his three seasons in charge.
But, in general, domestic cups around Europe have lost their gleam among big clubs with the rise of the Champions League and it's widely accepted that they're the bronze medal to league and European success, especially when you are a club at Barca's level.
Barca themselves, according to a report in Diario Sport, admitted as much when they draw up their bonus system. On its own, the Copa del Rey does not earn the players a bonus. If it's won alongside La Liga or the Champions League, however, it's supposedly worth around €250,000 to each player. Sport did report earlier this week that the club are drawing up an additional payment at the last minute for a cup win, mind.
Aside from the debate which surrounds the value of the cup, there's also the question of the opposition. Gerard Pique described Alaves as the "revelation of the season" in a news conference on Friday. Luis Enrique then talked about how dangerous they are from wide areas and how flexible their system is. Then there's the fact they beat Barca at Camp Nou earlier in the season.
However you package it up, though, Alaves are still a team Barcelona, with complete respect, expect to beat -- even if this is, in the very correct use of the phrase (for once) their cup final.
"Maybe they are more excited than us, but they are not more ambitious," Luis Enrique said when asked if the Basque side's "unique" opportunity to land a trophy means they will be more motivated than Barca. "I've never known a group of players more ambitious than this Barca team."
The elephant in the room, meanwhile, is Real Madrid. Pique's reiterated that Barca's season should not be judged alongside their rivals and in many ways he has a point. But the undeniable truth is that the two sides and their successes are intrinsically linked -- and the defender's played his part in that at times, too.
For years Barca have been Spain's best, winning two trebles and six league titles since 2009, but this has been Madrid's season. And that's even before they do or don't clinch a league and European double.
Behind the Camp Nou walls and inside the Ciutat Esportiva the reflection and analysis should focus on why so many points were lost against inferior opposition in the table and why Barca completely switched off in big games in Paris and Turin. Outside, though, it's only natural that supporters look at Madrid's potential double and find themselves unsatisfied with the offering of the Copa del Rey.
It's sad, but that's the level both Madrid and Barca have ascended to in this modern era, for better or for worse.
But that's not to say the season has been a complete write-off. There have been some incredible highs. The PSG comeback will be remembered for a long time, as will Lionel Messi's stoppage-time winner at the Santiago Bernabeu. Both provided memories which will endure the test of time but neither came with a trophy.
Saturday's Copa del Rey final -- the final competitive game at Atletico Madrid's Vicente Calderon -- does represent a chance of a trophy.
Barca will be without the suspended Sergi Roberto and Luis Suarez for the game (both were injured this week, too) but welcome back Javier Mascherano and there could be a surprise return to action Aleix Vidal, who dislocated his ankle against Alaves in February and was ruled out for the rest of the season.
Despite those absences, they're expected to beat Alaves. And they should enjoy it. It may only be the Copa del Rey, but it's a trophy -- the only one they can still win -- and it's to be celebrated. What Barca must do is reflect after, try not to focus on what their rivals have done (however in their face it is) and not, by any means, forget the success they have experienced under Luis Enrique during the last three years.
And besides, there are many clubs that would consider winning the Copa del Rey one of their best-ever seasons. Perspective.