The virtual XI of FC Barcelona for the 2024-2025 season

FC Barcelona wants to once again be one of the best teams in the world both in terms of football and results. For this reason, Joan Laporta and Deco have been working for weeks on three signings that will undoubtedly raise the level of the squad and bring the Catalans closer to their goal. Nico Williams, Dani Olmo and Mikel Merino, if there are no setbacks, will be Barça players in the coming weeks and will compete to be part of Hansi Flick's starting XI next year.

Top defensive line and one of the best goalkeepers in the world

The German coach, if all goes well, will have a very complete and balanced squad, in which he will continue to have very good goalkeepers and in which he will be able to choose between multiple alternatives in defense. In fact, Barcelona is very close to bringing Joao Cancelo back on loan, so the coach will have a very versatile winger who can play on either side and even in midfield.

Goal

For a few months there has been talk about the possibility of Barça signing another goalkeeper to fight with Ter Stegen. Iñaki Peña did not convince the club in the games he played due to the German's injury and that is why several names of goalkeepers who could replace him were given. However, at the moment the former Galatasaray player is still in the squad and it does not seem like he will leave the team this summer. Therefore, there is no doubt who will be the starter in Barcelona's goal.

Ter Stegen

With the doubt about what will happen to Iñaki Peña, the German's substitute, who is not ruled out in search of more minutes elsewhere, there is no discussion with the German goalkeeper. Ter Stegen will be a starter for FC Barcelona for one more year and it is expected that he can recover his best version to be the savior that he was, for example, in the 22/23 campaign, and that has been in the majority of seasons that he has been at Barça.

Defense

The defensive line that FC Barcelona designs should be able to compete head-to-head against any defense on the planet. Ronald Araújo and Jules Koundé are at their best among the best in the world, and on top of that the culés have one of the most promising defenders on the planet, Pau Cubarsí, and two very good centre-backs like Iñigo Martínez and Andreas Christensen. On the sides, Jules himself and Cancelo complement each other perfectly, and on the other side Balde, the Portuguese himself, who can play there, and Álex Valle, who will surely stay, will complete the defense.

Cancelo/Koundé - Araújo - Cubarsí/Koundé - Balde

If there are no exits and everything goes as the Barça team expects it to go, Barcelona's defense will be the same as this past year. The club is working to have Cancelo return on loan and compete with Jules Koundé to be the starter on the right, and also be a solid alternative to Balde on the left. In addition, the French defender also has options in his natural position, in the center, accompanying Ronald Araújo, who once he recovers from his injury will undoubtedly be indisputable despite his reluctance to renew. The Frenchman or Pau Cubarsí will play alongside him, who after his great last campaign has earned the right to occupy that role.

A midfield and a world-class forward

FC Barcelona is fully aware that no matter how important the goal and defense are, where many games are defined is in the midfield and the forward line. It is for this reason that the club has set to work in this summer market to sign high-level footballers who can contribute different things to what already exists, and who can also be decisive. Hansi Flick is going to have a multitude of alternatives on both lines and will have to work hard to leave someone on the bench.

Midfield

If Barcelona's defense is going to be complete, the midfield is going to be even bigger words. Barça is going to have 6 great players who could be starters for almost every team in the world, and as an alternative they will have Fermín López, who has already proven to be a high-level resource. Hansi Flick is going to have serious 'problems' game by game to choose his trident in the center of the field and Barcelona fans seem to be enjoying this campaign with their 'players'.

Gündogan/Gavi - Merino/Frenkie - Pedri/Olmo

In the center of the field is where there will be the most competition in FC Barcelona, ​​if the versatile Olmo ends up arriving. The one from Terrassa can play inside and as a midfielder, so he will give Flick several options from the classic 4-3-3 to a kind of 4-2-3-1 with him or Pedri himself at the top of the midfield. The normal thing is that if Flick wants to have Dani in the middle, he and the canary will compete for the place. With the still Leipzig player you would have a technical footballer, with a lot of goals and the ability to associate, while with the Tenerife player you would lose a goal, but you would gain the last pass and 'magic' in three quarters of the field.

On the other hand, in midfield Mikel Merino and Frenkie de Jong could compete for a place in the XI. The Navarrese is the great objective for the Barcelona position and could arrive at a good price. He is a total midfielder, with a lot of reach into the rival area, as he demonstrated with Spain with the saving goal against Germany in extra time of the Euro Cup quarterfinals, with physicality and the criteria and technique to play at the base. The one from Real is not a typical pivot, but he has the conditions to be one, just like the Dutchman, who despite the indisputable role he has had until now and despite his talent, is going to have to earn the position next season. The injuries and his irregularity have caused the former Ajax player to leave doubts and he must dispel them before Hansi Flick who will have to choose between these two players.

The other unknown in the midfield is knowing what will happen to Gavi once he recovers from his injury. Nobody in the club doubts his value in the medium and long term and he can be seen making a career and history at Barça, but looking ahead to next season it seems that Ilkay Gündogan has an advantage to start. The Andalusian will not play until at least the end of September or October and will not be 100% until well into the course, so the German will be a starter at least until then. Even so, they are two different profiles, the German being more 'magical', having more goals and vision in three quarters, and the Sevillian being more physical, intense and decisive in the midfield. Therefore, they are two 'top' alternatives and whatever happens, Barcelona will enjoy a great footballer.

Attack

Although it does not reach the level of the midfield, with the foreseeable signing of the youngest of the Williams, Barça will have one of the best attacking triplets in the world. Despite his age, Lewandowski still has a lot of goals and with two 'cracks' like the still winger from Athletic and the magical Lamine Yamal on the wings, he could swell this season. In addition, Raphinha, the versatile Dani Olmo, Ferran Torres, Ansu Fati and Vitor Roque will be able to provide many solutions from the bench.

Lamine Yamal - Lewandowski - Nico Williams

With the arrival of Nico Williams, despite the fact that Barça has multiple alternatives up front, a priori there is no doubt as to what Flick's offensive trident will be. The still Athletic winger will be indisputable on the left, providing speed, overflow and goals, which are things that the team needed last season in that area and did not have. Raphinha, who feels more comfortable on the right, but last season played a lot on the left side, seems to be the great alternative to the Pamplona player in a role, just as he will be on the right. In that band, Lamine Yamal is going to be a starter and is even expected to raise his already high level to become the star of this Barcelona team.

At the point of attack, Lewandowski will once again be indisputable until his performance proves otherwise. Flick, who knows the Pole very well from their time at Bayern, believes that he will be able to produce a 'top' version of the '9' so that the Catalans have the great scorer that every great team needs. In the event that the player from Warsaw has a pronounced 'slump' that negatively affects his teammates, Vitor Roque, Ansu Fati or even Dani Olmo, who has already played as a 'false 9' at a good level, would be the main alternatives.