Why Sergi Roberto Was Barcelona's Most Surprising Player in 2015/16 Season

Real life doesn't always have a Hollywood ending. If it did, Sergi Roberto would be heading to the European Championships with Spain this summer, and lifting the trophy.

Vicente del Bosque announced on Tuesday that he was not planning on bringing the Barcelona midfielder to Euro 2016, which will come as a big blow for him.

Sergi Roberto missed out on the 25-man squad, which Sport's Miki Soria suggested might be because in recent weeks he hasn't played enough.

It's true that his minutes dropped off towards the end of the season, with Luis Enrique putting his faith in his "Gala XI" as Barcelona fought on three fronts, then two as they lost their way.

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But although his role has been reduced recently, he has had the most surprising season out of any of the players in the club's artillery.

Certainly when you consider the way things left off at the end of last season. Xavi Hernandez was the 12th man, always stepping in when there was room in midfield.

Sergi Roberto's job was to turn up and play in the less important games, the early rounds of the Copa del Rey and the like.

In total he played under 1,000 minutes, but Luis Enrique convinced him to stay during the summer, which the player noted after Barcelona's pre-season tour, per Sport.

While in the United States, Sergi Roberto was utilised as a right-back, thanks to Dani Alves' holiday break after the Copa America.

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What was surprising was that Luis Enrique continued to deploy him there once the season began.

Away at Athletic Club on the first day of the season he played out of his skin there, and that was followed up by another fine performance against Malaga at home. Barcelona won both games 1-0.

Roberto continued to impress, playing in different positions, from his natural central-midfield berth, to deep-lying midfielder, wide right and left-back.

He put in a stunning performance away against Getafe, creating goals for Luis Suarez and Neymar as Barcelona won 2-0.

It would have sounded barely believable a few months earlier, but with Lionel Messi out injured, Sergi Roberto was helping to fill the creative chasm.

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The first goal saw him pull off an outstanding backheel assist, and the second was a spectacular long pass that dipped perfectly for Neymar to volley home.

And then, playing in Messi’s position in the Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu, he set up the first goal of a 4-0 drubbing for Suarez.

If that’s where things ended, he would still count as Barcelona’s most surprising player of the season. But Sergi Roberto continued to impress, filling in wherever he was needed most.

Sport reported he will be rewarded for that with an automatic salary increase. It wrote:

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As Luis Enrique has used him in at least 60 percent of the club’s official games during the current campaign, his salary will automatically be increased as he has hit the pre-established scales.

In addition, his release clause will rise from 30 million euros to 40 million euros in relation to his wage rise, but also in relation to his contribution to the team this season.

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And despite his reduced minutes and dip in form of late, he will head into next season knowing he is in a much better position than he was a year ago.

Luis Enrique might just be the only person not surprised by Sergi Roberto’s rise, as the man that inspired it. And his job this summer will be to summon a similar raise in quality. This time we shouldn’t be taken aback.