Every week, we’ll bring you insight and analysis on the biggest talking points, wading through the noisy world of all things Barça with reporting you can trust.
What’s the biggest talking point in Barcelona at the moment?
Barça is great again!
OK, let’s not get ahead of ourselves, but Hansi Flick’s side are looking much better than the one that was struggling at the start of the season.
Two weeks earlier, after a disappointing defeat to Chelsea in the Champions League, Flick said he was feeling optimistic about his team and that some progress was being made. The German’s words surprised many by the lack of criticism in the local media towards the poor performance. However, since then, Barça have enjoyed their best two weeks of the season so far.
They beat Real Betis in Seville on Saturday, winning 5-3. The game was effectively over and dusted just before half-time, when Barca went 4–1 ahead thanks to a hat-trick from Ferran Torres and a brilliant effort from bright spark Rouni Bardhaji. Lamin Yamal scored the fifth goal from the penalty spot in the second half, before the hosts got two late goals.
Ferran Torres scores a hat-trick against Betis (Jose Luis Contreras/Nurfoto via Getty Images)
Barcelona looked dominant once again after a week in which they also beat Atletico Madrid at the Camp Nou. The high press was effective, left-back Gerard Martin impressed once again at centre-back, and Pedri produced a brilliant performance to prove he had never been better than before.
But the win took on even more significance as Real Madrid dropped another three points in their surprise defeat to Celta Vigo on Sunday night. It means Barca are now four points clear at the top of La Liga, after five games ago they finished El Clasico at the Bernabeu, five points behind their arch rivals from the Spanish capital.
Atlético Madrid also fell short on them, as they lost to Athletic Club in Bilbao. Villarreal was the only other team in Spain’s top four to win this weekend.
What else did we learn from Saturday’s game?
This was another statement performance from Yamal. Flick used the 18-year-old in a new position – at number 10 – and it worked. He was involved in the set-up for the first and third goals against Betis, scored the fifth and was unstoppable in the number 10 role – as we discussed here in this article.
Rooney was another big winner after the Betis game. The Sweden international was the surprise name in Flick’s line-up and he repaid his faith with a superb performance from the right back. The 20-year-old staked his claim for a more prominent role as part of Barça’s rotation players with a goal and an assist.
Meanwhile, the Martin experiment at centre-back continued to work well. Using the 23-year-old in that position is no longer a timely solution, they cannot afford to leave him out. The graduate from La Masia is disciplined in maintaining the high line, shows a great understanding with Pau Quibarsi, and offers a lot of solutions to Barça in building offensive play.
A few weeks ago, a meme went viral on Barça social media, in which he was called Gerard Maldini. Martin told club media that his teammates are also using this nickname for him. Far-fetched? Perhaps. But if he keeps it up the jokes will never stop.
“It’s a position I tried in pre-season and I feel comfortable there,” Martin told a news conference ahead of Barcelona’s Champions League meeting with Eintracht Frankfurt on Monday. “I don’t have any preferences, I’m fine there. I’ll play wherever the manager tells me.”
“I’ve already played there for a year or two, but the last five years. Things are the same. A very important thing is ball movement because of how we play.”
Martin was also asked whether he had looked up to Iñigo Martínez, who left for Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr in the summer after two seasons in Barca’s defence.
“He was a great leader,” Martin said. “In terms of video and analysis, I expect them to improve.”
What’s the latest on the Barcelona contract?
On Wednesday, sporting director Deco gave an interview to local radio station Cadena Ser, where he said he was not inclined to strengthen the team in January.
“It is very difficult to find players who can improve the team in January,” he said. “We have successful examples at the club, like the signing of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (from Arsenal in February 2022). But that was a special case, Aubameyang was in conflict with Arsenal, and we got a good deal. Now, I don’t see a case like that.”
The feeling inside the club is that Ronald Araujo’s unknown return date and his indefinite leave of absence are the only factors that could potentially change Barcelona’s approach in the upcoming transfer window if they decide to add a new defender. We will see what happens.
A day later, president Joan Laporta spoke to newspaper La Vanguardia at another event, supporting Deco’s approach in the January window, but also saying that “Barça is ready to invest in a big signing”.
And finally, on Friday, the club held its traditional Christmas dinner, to which all the local journalists were invited. During these informal meetings, the club’s most senior people remain present and interact with the journalists present, answering their questions on condition of anonymity.
Senior sources at the club were asked about future contracts, with Julián Álvarez’s name coming up. Barça admitted that they find it very difficult to enter into negotiations with Atletico Madrid and reach a potential agreement for the 25-year-old Argentina striker. They estimate that any deal would cost around €200 million. At that price, Barca sources say there will be no deal.
Those voices mentioned another player’s name as interesting: Carl Etta Eyong. The 22-year-old Levante striker has been monitored by Barca since last summer, when he was offered a cut-price fee because there was an exit clause at his then club Villarreal. The Catalans decided not to pursue a move for the Cameroon international as they were facing problems with their salary cap, while Robert Lewandowski was entering the final year of his contract.
Karl Eta Eyong has scored five times in nine La Liga matches this season (David Aliaga/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
But Etta Eyong’s name is still in discussion. He joined Levante in the summer and his current deal includes an exit clause in the region of €30m. Barcelona are well aware of this and Eta Eyong has impressed this season, scoring five goals in nine La Liga matches, but there is still a long way to go until the summer.
What’s up with Marc-Andre ter Stegen?
Goalkeeper Ter Stegen has been training again with his team-mates and is in the final stages of recovery from back surgery he had last summer. You will remember the controversy that arose at that time.
The 33-year-old Germany international has not received medical clearance to play again, but he is on track and hopes to get the all clear in the coming weeks. Flick said in his press conference before the Eintracht game that Ter Stegen could return to the squad for that match.
However, Barça’s plans for him have not changed. Ter Stegen is expected to continue as a backup option, with club sources insisting that summer signing Joan Garcia is the No. 1 – who also has Flick’s backing. The coach has been very pleased with García since his arrival from city rivals Espanyol and appointed him the club’s goalkeeper for the next 10 years. “I’m clear on this, Jon is my No. 1 goalkeeper,” Flick said in his press conference on Monday.
In Barça’s senior offices, sources admit that Ter Stegen’s crucial contract, which runs until 2028, is seen as a problem. But if Ter Stegen wants to stay he will have no choice but to honor that deal.
Barça would ideally like the goalkeeper to actively search for a move over the next month, even on loan. The prospect of becoming Germany’s No. 1 for next summer’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico could tempt Ter Stegen to leave as he looks to get the game time needed to convince national team manager Julian Nagelsmann.
Nevertheless, the last we heard from the player’s camp was that he has no intention of leaving Barça before the expiration of this contract. watch this space.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen is training again with his Barcelona teammates (Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
What should we pay attention to this week?
Barcelona face Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League tomorrow (Tuesday), hoping to improve their position in the competition – they are 18th in the league stage with seven points after five matches in the non-seeded play-off places.
But Barca have another objective in that game: to avoid a repeat of the scenes seen in April 2022, when Eintracht beat them in the second leg of the Europa League quarter-finals at the Camp Nou. Thousands of German fans were in attendance that night, turning Barça’s stadium into almost a home ground for Eintracht’s players. The scene of many Eintracht fans celebrating Barça’s elimination was seen as a travesty in Catalonia.
The club have confirmed that, for this game, they will only be selling tickets to their members. There will be space for away fans to avoid a repeat of the embarrassing situation of three years ago, but apart from that no tickets will be sold to the general public.
Barça will also monitor what its own members do with their tickets. They will only be sent through the club’s official app and it will not be possible to transfer them to another user. Barça have already noticed irregular activity with 300 members potentially trying to resell their tickets and are planning to take action against those attempting to do so.
Additional reporting: Lia Cervelo Herrero
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