Barcelona became one of the best teams in Europe last year, claiming the La Liga title trophy and a deep run in the Champions League. Hansi Flick found a winning formula for the Blaugrana, focusing on a direct approach to football while taking advantage of Barcelona’s technically talented youngsters. However, the first weeks of 25/26 have failed to impress fans, raising the question: What happened? [banner][/banner]
Financial Constraints and Transfer Market Setbacks
Coming into the season, club president Joan Laporta promised a return to Camp Nou and to regular spending by freeing space in the Financial Fair-Play (FFP). This has not been the case for the last five years. This was meant to be the year where Barcelona could fork out more, and where several ventures would bring in additional income. The condition to fulfill before spending was that some of those would include the sale of VIP seats. There’s one problem: it did not happen. The club couldn’t close deals while the stadium renovation wasn’t complete. In turn, less revenue meant Barça couldn’t lay out as much as they anticipated.
🏟️ Spotify Camp Nou now. pic.twitter.com/s2vPBd4dCL
— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) September 3, 2025
In the transfer market, Barcelona struggled to come up with solutions as well. Similar to last year, everything pointed towards the signing of Athletic Club winger Nico Williams. The documents dragged on until he eventually decided to extend his contract with the Basques, leaving Laporta’s camp stranded on the market. Marcus Rashford arrived on loan, though it significantly changed Flick’s plans. There’s also a departure that changed matters. Defender Iñigo Martínez, one of the main protagonists of the season by leading the backline through his ball-carrying, left the club two weeks before the end of the Summer window. Though nobody blames him, as he knew that another offer like Al-Nassr’s wouldn’t come again, it was a major blow to the coach’s strategy.
It's a shame We only witnessed Cubarsi x Inigo Martinez duo just for a season💔
What a brilliant partnership 👏 pic.twitter.com/bpBg2wrvuL — Ƥƶ (@Praizfcb) September 3, 2025
On the positive side, Barcelona proceeded to bring on Joan Garcia from Espanyol, who has already demonstrated his qualities as a goalkeeper. Fermin could have left, but instead, the drama accumulated last week. It leaves Hansi Flick with limited resources, one defender less, and many of the desired signings missing.
Injury Crisis Exposes Squad Depth Issues
The beginning of the term went from bad to worse with the injury of starting striker Robert Lewandowski, leaving Flick with Ferrán Torres as his only striker. Though he hasn’t been catastrophic, it brings up several concerns for the rest of the term. Most notably, the limited squad depth ahead of a busy schedule. Season starts are often challenging, as many need time to get back into match fitness after the holidays. Still, despite two victories and a draw, Barcelona failed to impress. While the team used to smash opponents with impressive scores, defensive solidity seems to have taken a hit, despite Garcia’s arrival.
Big chances conceded after three games of the new LaLiga season:
1st - Real Madrid (1) --- 20th - Barcelona (12) pic.twitter.com/5nTHHxqswu — La Pausa (@lapausa_fc) September 1, 2025
It’s true that Barça have never been conservative, especially under Hansi Flick. If anything, he demonstrated that the use of an aggressive highline worked for his squad. This premise ran on two conditions: defenders needed to be aware of the offside trap, and the team needed to be proactive in possession. Without Martínez, both of these become challenging, as Ronald Araújo battles in both departments. Flick finds himself forced to install either García or Koundé at right-back, which comes with structural changes. Without Martínez, Barcelona didn’t only lose a great ball-playing defender. He was one of the few veterans to feature regularly and the only one with extensive experience at the back.
Leadership Void and Tactical Disruption
A major part of Flick’s philosophy requires players to keep calm, which is challenging for the majority of youngsters. As displayed against Rayo Vallecano, Barça were left structureless. Players kept rushing forward. In most cases, this does not benefit the team since the Blaugranas have more technical than physical attributes. Certain talents can keep cool in such situations (Pedri and Frenkie de Jong), but the same cannot be said about their teammates.
Dani Olmo is not only injury-prone, but also unreliable. We had €60m and spent it on a player who can’t deliver 10/10 performances in five consecutive matches. He’s so frustrating pic.twitter.com/lzK8nigzIY
— Anabella💙❤️ (@AnabellaMarvy) August 31, 2025
One of the unexplainable issues so far has been the competition between Fermín López and Dani Olmo. Last term, the latter used to start during the first months of the season, while López finished the job as a supersub. However, Olmo has struggled to stay fit, which has reversed the hierarchy (or at least, it should have). Olmo has been disappointingly inconsistent in his performances in recent months. His role as attacking midfielder cannot afford such imprecision. He seemed to have heated exchanges with Raphinha, who also battled to keep calm against Rayo Vallecano.
Ego Problems Threaten Team Chemistry
By now, it’s clear that several players have underperformed. Hansi Flick insisted that ‘egos kill success’, which many believed to be hinted at by Lamine Yamal. The forward has held onto the ball more than he used to, leading to personal disputes between him and his teammates. Pedri agreed with his manager, insisting that unity was their strength last season. It doesn’t seem to be the case in Barcelona’s ranks anymore.
Trivela. 🦶🏻 pic.twitter.com/3zbEO7jwhV
— Lamine Yamal Xtra (@Yamal_Xtra) September 3, 2025
Last but not least, Gavi, who recently suffered a knock on his knee, may be an issue. As one of the most active players off the ball, his profile was key to sustaining Flick’s game plan. Without him, as well as other changes like Martinez or Lewandowski, the coach may need to rethink structural changes for the team. [banner_third][/banner_third]