Barcelona guide: favourites for a third consecutive LaLiga title, but faith in Flick could become a trap

Slow in the market, Barcelona appear to be relying heavily on the German manager's ability to get the best out of his players

Barcelona have not won three consecutive LaLiga titles since the golden Pep Guardiola era between 2009 and 2011. In the season about to begin, Hansi Flick could match the Catalan's record, only bettered by the four in a row achieved under Johan Cruyff in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Barcelona, with the German in charge since 2024, won the last two Spanish league titles with relative comfort down the stretch and are clear favourites for a third straight crown.

The reason for that, beyond Barcelona's own consistency, is the ongoing crisis at rivals Real Madrid, who have gone through Carlo Ancelotti, Xabi Alonso, Alvaro Arbeloa and now Jose Mourinho as manager during that period.

In pursuit of a third title, Barcelona spent more money than in their last three transfer windows combined. However, it is fair to say the main objective of the window was not achieved, and Flick will face considerable challenges with a squad that is not properly balanced.

Gordon and Adeyemi will make Barcelona even more intense

© Imago / ZUMA Press Wire

The defining feature of Hansi Flick's two years in Catalonia has been his highly distinctive playing style.

The club, as his footballing philosophy demands, continues to dominate possession and control matches through positional play. The real difference lies in the intensity without the ball and the height of the defensive line, both of which have reached extreme levels.

Barcelona want to press high at every opportunity, right from the first phase, which makes the role of the forwards decisive, as they are responsible for the first line of pressure on opposition defenders.

Some of the inconsistent moments of last season, which fell short of 2024-25, came when Raphinha, a key figure in that regard, was unavailable through injury.

The club's business in the market appeared to be an attempt to address that issue. Anthony Gordon, signed for £68 million (€80m), and Karim Adeyemi, signed for £24.65 million (€29m), are versatile forwards capable of playing across all three attacking positions and, crucially, extremely quick.

Any potential injuries to Raphinha, or to Lamine Yamal, the team's star player who returned from the World Cup below his best specifically due to a disrupted physical preparation, would in theory be covered without any drop in intensity or defensive commitment.

The real question is the technical impact, which poses challenges beyond just the attack.

Hansi Flick could be exposed by his squad

© Imago / ZUMA Press Wire

Barcelona's business in the transfer window has been disappointing and could disrupt the season.

The biggest saga involved the dream of signing Julian Alvarez, but Atletico Madrid held firm and kept hold of their main man. Barcelona appeared to focus all of their attention on the Argentinian and had no back-up plan.

No replacement arrived for Robert Lewandowski, and Barcelona have now officially lost their other senior number nine, Ferran Torres, who has completed his move to Paris Saint-Germain.

As a result, Barcelona begin the season with Gordon as their central striker option, with Adeyemi able to play there too, or even Yamal, as Hansi Flick revealed during pre-season.

The club appears to be doubling down on the manager's ability to transform players. Under Flick, Raphinha, Eric Garcia, Jules Kounde, Ferran Torres, Inigo Martinez (who left the club in 2025) and Gerard Martin have all reached career-best form.

The German has also repositioned players, with Garcia moving into a holding-midfield and full-back role and Martin operating as a centre-back, while handing debuts to 12 academy graduates from La Masia since his arrival.

That has been particularly clear in defence. After loaning Ronald Araujo out to Liverpool, Barcelona decided to trust 21-year-old Alvaro Cortes, a standout from Barcelona's youth ranks and the Spain national setup, as his "replacement".

The club had been linked with Alessandro Bastoni, Nico Schlotterbeck, Cristian Romero and Aymeric Laporte, but is instead putting its faith in La Masia. Academy graduates Orian Goren (midfielder), Ebrima Tunkara (attacking midfielder/winger) and Hector Fort (left-back) are also expected to get more minutes in 2026-27.

In midfield, the situation would likely also have involved trusting the academy, potentially with Marc Bernal covering for Frenkie de Jong's injury, had it not been for the bold and surprising move for Rodri, beating rivals Real Madrid to his signature.

Fitting the holding midfielder into the system is not entirely straightforward, but there is no doubting Flick's ability to make it work.

Real Madrid loom as a revived title rival

© Iconsport / GEPA pictures/ Avni Retkoceri

The Barcelona boss, one of the best in the world, faces major challenges. His intense, attacking philosophy, built around an extremely high defensive line, is what brings success, but it is also what caused problems in the Champions League and Copa del Rey exits to Atletico Madrid.

It remains to be seen whether the approach taken by president Joan Laporta and director Deco will expose the German or showcase his qualities even further.

The problem is that, beyond the issues within his own squad, Barcelona face a hungry rival: Real Madrid, without a trophy since 2024, invested heavily in the window and are promising to be a far more competitive rival than before.

There are, however, doubts over how much Jose Mourinho can achieve after a string of underwhelming spells elsewhere.

The answers will start to arrive from 23 August, when Barcelona open their campaign against Elche. Real Madrid begin a day earlier, against Espanyol.