Barcelona’s Rise to the Top
“Over the last few days I have been thinking about what I was going to say, what I could say. The truth is that I am stuck…We always placed our own happiness first, being at home, enjoying life in Barcelona on sporting and personal level…It’s time to say goodbye…it has been a long time, a whole life.” Those were the final words of Lionel Messi before leaving Barcelona in 2021. Barcelona was the football club he had been at his entire career up until that point. These words not only began a decline in his own club career, but also spurred a decline of Barça itself.
Barcelona was not used to being last. Having won numerous La Liga (Highest Spanish Football / Soccer division) titles and 5 UEFA Champions Leagues (Tournament amongst every soccer club in the world), Barça is no stranger to silverware. Unfortunately, their success would take a plummet in “The Dark Ages.”
The Dark Ages (late 2021-late 2022)
A big reason why Barcelona had to let go of their superstar, Messi, was because the club was drowning in €1.3 billion of debt. As a result, La Liga had greatly restricted their salary cap, and, because of that restriction, Barcelona had to sell Messi in order to make room for other players. Griezmann (French) and Pjanić (Bosnian) were also sold to give flexibility to the team.
In the 2021-2022 season, the club had hired Ronald Koeman as the new head coach. He would lead Barcelona to 0 UCLs, 0 La Liga Titles, 0 Copa del Rays, and 0 Spanish Super Cups. Barcelona was ninth in La Liga. They were knocked out early in the Copa del Rey with terrible defense to Athletic Club, lost in semifinals of the Spanish Super Cup to Real Madrid, and had a historic group stage elimination in the Champions League. This was their first time not reaching the UCL knockout stage since 2000. They scored just 2 goals in 6 matches.
Late in the 2021-2022 season, Koeman was sacked, being replaced by Xavi Hernandez. Xavi had originally played for Barcelona, and even started from La Masia (translates to the “farmhouse”), the junior football club of Barcelona, where many young stars, including Messi, used to play. Xavi tried to rebuild. And he did.
The Reconstruction Era (late 2022-2024)
Having taken over a struggling club, Xavi looked to revive the classic Barça identity through La Masia players (who he could get for free) like Gavi, Pedri, and Ansu Fati.
Club president Joan Laporta also made some important decisions to sell TV rights and Barca Studios (economic levers) in order to get cash. Using this money, Xavi signed Robert Lewandowski, one of the best strikers of our generation (€45 million), Raphinha (€58 million), and Jules Koundé (€50 million). Finally, Barcelona was taking shape once again. With these new players, along with a few others like Araujo and Balde, Barcelon won their first La Liga title in 4 years (2022-2023).
But it wasn’t all good news. Barcelona still got knocked out in the group stages of the Champions League (granted behind two powerhouses of Bayern Munich and Inter Milan) and they were knocked out in the Europa League by Manchester United.
In 2023-2024, they finished #2 in La Liga (behind Real Madrid, their historic rival) and finally reached the quarterfinals of the UCL before being knocked out by PSG.
By the end of 2023 and the start of 2024, Xavi had given Barcelona his heart and soul. He announced his retirement on January 27, 2024. On May 29, 2024, Hansi Flick was appointed head coach. And that’s when the club took off.
“Flick Ball” (2024-Present)
After taking over, Hansi Flick turned Barcelona into a brutal training academy. It paid off. Flick scouted players like Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi from La Masia and recruited them for free. These two teenagers would terrorize Europe in the coming years. With fast paced play, “Flick Ball” was born.
In 2024-2025, Barcelona is at the top of the La Liga table, with a clear 4 points ahead of Real Madrid and a goal differential of 22. Early in August, they led the table with a 7-0 win against Real Valladolid and then a 5-1 win against Villareal. Then came the real test. On the 26th of October, Real Madrid and Barcelona would face off. Real Madrid recently picked up Kylian Mbappe, a French striker, and were looking incredibly dominant. Barcelona on the other hand had a grandpa (Robert Lewandowski, 36) and teenagers (Yamal, 17 & Cubarsi, 17). Barcelona won 4-0. Lewandowski scored two while Lamine Yamal and Raphinia both added one apiece.
In January of 2025, Barcelona defeated Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup with a convincing 5-2 victory to secure the title in another historic “El Clasico” (the name fans have given the meeting of Barcelona and Real Madrid). In a few days, they will battle it out in the Copa del Rey finals.
Barcelona also made it handily out of the group stages of the UCL, only 2nd behind Liverpool. They defeated Dortmund with an aggregate score of 5-3. They look to beat Inter Milan in the semifinals.
This marks a new beginning for a better era of Barcelona. As a fan myself, I am excited to see where this goes. Visca Barca!
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