The Blaugrana will conclude the season trophy-less and in a chaotic fashion, but there is still plenty of quality to be enthused about in this group.
So, Barcelona is a disaster. They lost the La Liga championship to Real Madrid, squandered a Champions League semi-final position when it was there for the taking, and have a manager in Xavi who resigned, was persuaded to stay, and may be fired anyhow at the end of a trophy-less season in Catalonia.
In terms of playing personnel, their best midfielders, Pedri and Gavi, missed the majority of the season due to injury, while their primary striker, Robert Lewandowski, has largely fallen off a cliff. They could yet lose one of Europe’s best defenders in Ronald Araujo this summer due to crippling financial difficulties, so what is actually going right for the Barcelona?
Well, there is some hope. With the season slipping away, Xavi turned to youth – and the kids have proven to be more than alright. Lamine Yamal is, of course, the headline name, but a young cast is starting to show promise.
GOAL has rated every Barcelona player’s performance from throughout the 2023-24 season to figure out who should be awarded the club’s Player of the Season prize…