Arturo Vidal transfer may confirm a change of style at Barcelona – but his winning mentality is unquestionably familiar

What does ‘Mes que un club’ mean? Barcelona’s famous maxim refers to much more than playing style, but for many years it also appeared to symbolise their identity on the pitch. Not so much these days, however.

At their Camp Nou home, Barca have added a few words to their much-used motto. Instead of the ‘Mes que un club’ phrase visible on the seats, it now reads ‘What does Mes que un club mean?’ and Arturo Vidal was presented to the fans in front of that backdrop on Monday.

Vidal’s signing has raised new questions about Barcelona’s style of play. Last summer, there was outrage from some fans when Paulinho was brought in instead of top target Marco Verratti. And now, with Andres Iniesta having left the club earlier this summer, the Chilean’s arrival is seen as another step away from the juego de posición which was so successful and also spectacular during Pep Guardiola’s time in charge.

“I have heard a lot about ‘Barca DNA’,” Vidal said in a press conference on Monday when asked about style. “I have the same mentality as all of the players here. The important thing is to win as many titles as possible.”

There is little doubt that success comes first, but Barca also prided themselves in winning with a certain swagger in recent years and some supporters have not taken to the pragmatic approach of current coach Ernesto Valverde – despite last season’s domestic double.

New sporting director Eric Abidal (above, right) was sat alongside Vidal on Monday and, asked if the club’s philosophy is changing, he said: “You’re talking about a model and a time when there were other players here, not only Xavi. Now there are other players. We adapt. We respect the squad and the coach makes decisions.”

Xavi left Barca in the summer of 2015 and since his departure, the Catalans have failed to win the Champions League. Now Iniesta is gone too, with Sergio Busquets the sole survivor from that memorable midfield.

Cesc Fabregas and Thiago Alcantara were seen as the successors to Xavi and Iniesta, but it did not quite work out for the former on his return to Barca and the latter left to join Bayern Munich.

Many fans wanted Thiago to return this summer, but Barca opted to bring in another Bayern midfielder in Vidal, a player more similar to Paulinho than Iniesta in terms of playing style.

“He’s a player who we hope will bring energy to the midfield,” Valverde said at the weekend. “He has a lot of experience and has played a lot of games in all the teams he has appeared with. He’s accustomed to playing in big matches.

“He has a lot of presence on the field and I think that will be very good for us. Like Paulinho, he’s a player who's a little bit different than the ones we have and we think he will be able to adapt well. He’s a warrior. Our team has space for many different types of players.”

And that is the point. Recent Brazilian signing Arthur has shown during Barca’s International Champions Cup matches in the United States that he has qualities reminiscent of Xavi, while 18-year-old Riqui Puig is the latest midfielder from La Masia academy to excite fans.

Vidal offers something different. The Chilean is a powerful, box-to-box midfielder with bags of aggression and physicality and, if he can shake off his recent knee injury, he too can be a useful player in this team – even at the age of 31.

There is no doubt his arrival does confirm a shift in philosophy, but times have changed at Camp Nou.