The cadence of the summer transfer window may have been disrupted by the Club World Cup but clubs have resumed business as usual, collectively spending almost $5 billion with a month still on the clock until deadline day. Many of Europe’s top clubs have contributed handily to that grand total, but one has opted for a much quieter strategy – Hansi Flick’s Barcelona, fresh off their impressive La Liga and Copa del Rey-winning season.
Barcelona have spent around $32 million on transfer fees so far this summer, most of it on goalkeeper Joan Garcia from Espanyol, though Copenhagen fetched a modest fee for forward Roony Bardghji. The team’s flashiest signing of the summer so far is arguably Marcus Rashford, who joined the team on a season-long loan from Manchester United with an option to buy next year, and though there is still time for Barcelona to do more, there is little indication that they will.
They would not be the first to take a moderate approach to their summer business, nor is it uncommon to see a title-winning side mostly stick with the squad that put in the hard work before collecting the winners’ medals. It is slightly unusual for Barcelona, though, a club that has rammed signings through the door for several years now, undeterred by precarious finances that have turned every transfer window into a chaotic series of sagas. The quieter strategy is no doubt good news for anyone balancing Barcelona’s books, but it is also a signal that the club believe they have what it needs to compete in domestic and continental competition again this season – and they may have a point.
Barcelona’s success last season came down chiefly to Flick’s ability to work with players that were already on the club’s books, even if Dani Olmo ticked off all the boxes as their flashy new signing next summer and the subject of their latest dramatic transfer. They coupled their domestic double with a run to the UEFA Champions League semifinals, something few people predicted for the team at the start of the season. It puts them in a unique position to maintain that momentum for another campaign, even if their quiet transfer strategy does not answer all their problems.
Do Barcelona already have what they need?
The story of Barcelona’s success last season revolves around three different players, each with their own trajectory to the top – Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha.
Yamal’s star was on the rise before Flick was hired and has already proven to be a generational talent, one who would excel on an individual level regardless of the circumstances. He is emblematic of Barcelona’s greatest strength, even amidst the financial ruin that has turned one of Europe’s top clubs into a mess – their academy. Barcelona’s financial hardships in recent years meant Flick’s predecessor, Xavi, had to lean heavily on graduates of La Masia, several of whom also played a sizable role in last season’s double. Pedri and Gavi have passed through Barcelona’s academy, as has center back Pau Cubarsi.
Lewandowski, meanwhile, is one of the greatest goal scorers of his generation, and even though he is in his post-peak years, his natural talent is well documented. His reunion with Flick, with whom he won the Champions League in 2020 with Bayern Munich, is as much a sign of the Poland international’s strengths as it is Flick’s. Lewandowski’s form trended upwards in the 2024-25 campaign after an underwhelming 2023-24 season, scoring 42 goals in 52 games as Barcelona won the double.
Flick’s greatest success story, though, is Raphinha. The Brazil international was once a signal that Barcelona’s glory days were behind them when he joined the club from Leeds United in 2022, but almost overnight, he became one of Barcelona’s top performers last season, scoring 34 goals in 57 games and likely putting himself in the conversation for the Ballon d’Or. Flick moved Raphinha from the wings to a more central role, quickly getting the best out of him and demonstrating that despite their flaws, the team had what it took to be one of Europe’s best sides.
Could Barcelona contend for the treble again?
The surprise of Barcelona’s upward trajectory last season was in large part a reaction to their juxtaposition with Real Madrid a year ago. While they struggled to get Olmo’s transfer over the line, Madrid were busy lining up Kylian Mbappe and launching a new era of the Galacticos. Looks were most certainly deceiving this time a year ago, though, and there is little to indicate that a seismic shift will take place in domestic competition for the upcoming campaign.
Barcelona are betting big that last season’s core will get the job done again this time around, though the new signings could offer additional resources. Rashford and Bardghji will be counted on to create and score goals, though the fact that Barcelona are already stacked with impactful attackers means that their performances are unlikely to make or break the team’s hopes. That is good news for the 19-year-old Bardghji, who may need time to adjust to the demands at a club like Barcelona, while the pressure on the 27-year-old Rashford is more about the trajectory of his own career rather than carrying the team on his back.
The question is if Flick and company captured magic in a bottle last season or if this is a sustainable approach for the foreseeable future, a query that is probably more relevant to their hopes of winning the Champions League since the dynamic in Spain is different. Real Madrid are still a perennial contender in domestic competition and have improved the roster, both with new signings like Trent Alexander-Arnold and new discoveries like Gonzalo Garcia. Their run to the Club World Cup semifinals, though, demonstrated that there is still plenty of imbalance in Los Blancos’ squad, a problem that could take new manager Xabi Alonso time to solve.
The big unknown of La Liga’s upcoming campaign is if Atletico Madrid will muster a real challenge. They were in the title race at times last season and were in the semifinals of the Copa del Rey, which has paved the way for a busy summer that includes signing Alex Baena from Villarreal and U.S. international Johnny Cardoso from Real Betis. The continuity from last season to this one, though, means that Barcelona are the favorites to win the title with a few weeks to go until opening day.
Barcelona’s defense still raises questions
For all of Barcelona’s strengths, Flick’s team essentially lived and died by the sword en route to the domestic double and may not have improved in that regard The manager prefers to play with an entertaining high line but it is a strategy that left Barcelona defensively vulnerable at times last season, perhaps because the team does not have the personnel to complement this style of play.
That was especially glaring in goal. Wojciech Szczesny was a more effective fill-in than Inaki Pena after Marc-Andre ter Stegen sustained a knee injury that kept him out for much of last season, but Szczesny was error-prone. Flick seems likely to move on from ter Stegen, even before the German goalkeeper pulled up with a back injury that will keep him out for three months, with Garcia now the apparent new No. 1 at Barcelona. The former Espanyol goalkeeper, though, is the only new signing Barcelona have made in defense, though, raising questions about whether or not Flick’s side will have the resolve they need in the back or if outsourcing the opposition will be their main strategy for next season.
