Lol. This is like if a CB were to go out on a weekly basis, get absolutely demolished defensively and have no defensive IQ, but score 20-25 goals in a season and get massive praise for it.
People here severely underestimate how important it is for a player in a position to actually have the skillset for that position. And being a midfielder at Barca that's literally incapable of being a productive force in buildup or ball circulation is a very critical flaw. Any game with a tough midfield contest and we'd get murdered essentially having 1 CM in play. People (including myself) shit on Rakitic for not being creative or useful on the ball but he is literally leagues ahead of Paulinho in this regard who had an atrocious 1:2 forward passing ratio and 4 turnovers. RM's midfield would demolish him if he started next week and we would have terrible control of the midfield.
Basketball teams don't play with Centers that can't defend the rim. NFL teams don't generally play with a QB that can't pass. I feel like this is a basic aspect of not only football but every sport out there.