Barcelona’s dominance of Real Madrid in the last two football seasons has been clear for all to see.
So much so, indeed, that their rivals from the Spanish capital have just appointed their fourth manager in 12 months with the return of Jose Mourinho .
Now Barca are aiming to pile on the misery for Los Blancos.
With Barca having captured two successive La Liga titles, and with the team’s players performing a major part in Spain’s World Cup win last month, it is no surprise that oddsmakers are predicting a Blaugrana three-peat.
The last time the Catalan club achieved that feat was under legendary Catalan manager Pep Guardiola, who finished the run by making it a Champions League double in 2011.
The gap to Real in terms of titles remains a sore point, however, with the Madrid club having lifted the trophy on 36 occasions compared to Barca’s 29.
Barca, though, have won 13 of the last 25 La Liga titles, with Real winning seven in that time. Now, their chance to finally close a painful and long-standing wound has never been better.
The World Cup success, which saw no Real player included in the Spanish national squad, could also well become a launching pad into the season.
Defenders Pau Cubarsi and Eric Garcia; midfielders Dani Olmo, Pedri and Lamine Yamal; and forward Ferran Torres all shone as the global crown was claimed for a second time.
Though the extended World Cup run also means Hansi Flick will have to handle potential burnout, Barca’s youthful roster should be resilient. At 36, goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny is Barcelona’s only player over 30.
So what could be the deciding factors to tip the title in Barca’s favour once more? Al Jazeera takes a look at five key questions for Flick’s side ahead of the coming season.
Ronald Araujo, who captained the team and provided defensive muscle, is off to Liverpool. That leaves back line leadership to 19-year-old Cubarsi, who depends more on anticipation and positioning than so-called intimidation.
Cubarsi has proven himself as a two-season starter, able to mix it up as he’s grown in stature, and capping his progress by performing start to finish in the World Cup.
Mobility aligned with the ability to read situations well means he is considered far older than his tender years. He’s also a product of Barcelona’s La Masia youth academy, and can skilfully start attacks from the back. Veteran Andreas Christensen complements Cubarsi in central defence.
Flick is accustomed to lining up Robert Lewandowski in attack, having managed him at both Bayern Munich and Barcelona, but the Polish forward has now moved to Major League Soccer in the United States with Chicago Fire.
Barca, however, proved last season that, just maybe, it didn’t need the Lewandowski goal machine for the side to succeed.
The Polish striker’s scoring declined to 19 and 21 goals in the last two campaigns compared to 42 in the season before.
He did, though, draw defenders and present a physical presence up front, and that will be missed.
You might think Flick would have pursued a high-profile replacement, but he must figure the position has been covered.
Ferran Torres, who has attracted attention from Paris Saint-Germain, is the heir apparent after scoring 21 goals last season, and converting the decider in the World Cup final.
Or, is Hamza Abdelkarim’s chance coming sooner than anticipated?
The 18-year-old Egyptian, who joined the academy of his hometown club in Cairo, Al Ahly, in 2020, has signed on loan ahead of a permanent move.
He grabbed the spotlight when fast-tracked into Egypt’s squad for the 2026 World Cup, and became his country’s youngest debutant when appearing as a substitute in the 1-1 draw with Belgium.
The reigning La Liga player of the year, Yamal was the joint top scorer – along with Ferran Torres – for Barcelona in La Liga with 16 goals, and that despite missing 10 league games last season. Across all competitions, Yamal scored 24 goals in 45 appearances.
Slowed by injury, Yamal converted only once during the World Cup, but seemed to be improving as the tournament progressed. Until recently, the young winger has proven durable. But scheduling demands probably should be managed, and that is one reason Karim Adeyemi arrived, adding depth on the wing.
Since making his debut at 16 in 2023, Yamal has totalled 151 appearances for Barcelona, plus 33 national team appearances.
Though much of Barcelona’s off-season attention centred on a possible bid for World Cup Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, which is still ongoing, the club seemed set with the acquisitions of Adeyemi and Anthony Gordon.
Flick gave Adeyemi his Germany debut five years ago. Now Adeyemi, 24, is expected to not only back up Yamal on the right wing, but to possibly take on a striker role.
There will be times when Barca’s ad infinitum possession tactics will need to be augmented by athleticism, flat-out speed and vertical play. And that is where Adeyemi and Gordon will come in.
Flick got finesse and finishing from Raphinha and Marcus Rashford, who has now returned to Manchester United following his loan, on the left last season.
Gordon, who scored 17 goals in 46 appearances for Newcastle United last season, can unbalance defences by simply running straight at defenders.
A study by the Swiss research group CIES Football Observatory listed Gordon as the fastest player in the Champions League last year.
Fermin Lopez missed the World Cup with a broken toe, while Raphinha picked up a hamstring injury while playing for Brazil at the tournament.
Both are fully fit for the new season.
Gavi has sustained long-term injuries in two of the last three seasons, but the midfielder has passed with a clean bill of health going into the new campaign.
Of the long-term injuries, Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong won’t return until November from a knee injury, while Kuwait-born Swedish international Roony Bardghji is out for the season with a knee injury.
Of the 10 games that Yamal missed last season, six of those were the final matches of the campaign, including the title-clinching 2-0 victory over Real Madrid .
On the positive side, he and Gavi and Lopez, who missed the World Cup, have now had plenty of time to rehabilitate, with Yamal’s rehab coming more so before the tournament, for which he was nursed carefully back to full health.
It has been an exceptional period for Barcelona in recent years, and especially the last two with Yamal, but Jose “the special one” Mourinho is back in Madrid, and that may well be the most decisive factor in whether the three-peat can be achieved.
