da fezbet： The Blaugrana will end the season trophy-less and in a chaotic manner, but there is still plenty of talent to be excited by in this squad
da dobrowin： So, Barcelona are a mess. They have lost their La Liga title to Real Madrid, threw away a Champions League semi-final spot when it was there for the taking and have a manager in Xavi who resigned, was convinced to stay, and now might be sacked anyway at the end of a trophy-less campaign in Catalunya.
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…
Getty Images23Sergi Roberto (3/10) ↔️
Xavi has repeatedly stuck up for Roberto, insisting that his vice-captain can deputise in a number of key roles. That may be true, but it's unclear which ones he actually functions in. He doesn't offer the creativity of Pedri, finesse of Frenkie de Jong, nor physicality of Oriol Romeu. And these days, he lacks the legs to make up for it.
He may be a dressing-room favourite, but Roberto looks well off the level required to play for an elite European club.
AdvertisementGetty Images 22Oriol Romeu (3/10) ↔️
What exactly was Romeu supposed to be? The Barcelona academy player could never replace Sergio Busquets after returning to the club from Girona. The expectation was, perhaps, that he could function in the same way, providing the muscle at the base of the Barca midfield. However, his lack of pace, and non-existent agility has been costly.
Once a nailed-on starter, he has fallen out of favour, and will likely be made available for sale this summer.
(C)GettyImages21Joao Cancelo (4.5/10) ⬇️
Cancelo has endured a mixed season. Some of his attacking quality has been clear to see, but he hasn't been the chance-creation beast that Barca perhaps hoped when they signed him on loan from Manchester City.
At times, it has felt like he has kept some compelling younger talents out of the side, and it'll be interesting to see if the Blaugrana make his loan move permanent.
Getty Images20Vitor Roque (5/10) ⬇️
Do Barca actually want him? Roque enjoyed two good weeks immediately following the completion of his transfer in January, scoring twice and being a general menace in the front-line
But he has barely made an appearance since, and talks of a permanent move away from the club for the teenage striker might become more than idle chatter.