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Cesc Fabregas's 26th birthday celebrations on Saturday may have been more subdued than usual after Barcelona's Champions League exit to Bayern Munich on Wednesday, the latest in a series of key matches in which he has failed to impress.
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The former Arsenal captain has struggled to live up to sky-high expectations since returning to his boyhood club in the summer of 2011, even prompting media speculation he may move on again at the end of the current campaign.
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Pep Guardiola left him out of some of the club's biggest games towards the end of last season and his replacement as coach, his former assistant and close friend Tito Vilanova, has followed suit.
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Fabregas has started 26 of Barca's 33 La Liga matches this term but, more tellingly, only half of the 12 Champions League games.
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Vilanova has appeared unsure about where to deploy him and he has alternated between an offensive midfield position or a roving forward role similar to the one he plays for the Spanish national team.
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While he has generally been effective in La Liga, netting 10 goals, he has not performed reliably in some of Barca's crucial Champions League clashes or against arch-rivals Real Madrid in La Liga and the King's Cup.
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Against Bayern on Wednesday, when he played up front in place of the injured Lionel Messi, he made little impact despite featuring for the full 90 minutes.
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His performance drew sharp criticism from Edi Tubau, a Spanish field hockey international who accused Fabregas of a "disgraceful" lack of commitment.
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Some sections of the Nou Camp crowd, not for the first time, whistled him despite him being a product of the club's hugely successful youth academy.
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Vilanova defended Fabregas at a news conference on Saturday, saying he was a player of "high quality" who Barca had wanted to bring back to the club for a long time before they got him.
Happy birthday to him. Long life n prosperity too.