Football Season Guide

Barcelona conceded their La Liga crown to rivals Real Madrid last May so they needed a strong summer of transfer market activity to reload and to fight in 2017/18 to regain the league title. However, that has not happened, with the Catalan club experiencing one of their most difficult summers ever. The main story has been the loss of Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain, with the French club coming in and paying the Brazilian's release clause to leave Barcelona without one of the members of their famed MSN front three. Not only that, but Barcelona have struggled to sign the players they themselves had targeted, with PSG's own Marco Verratti proving to be off-limits and with the team having to settle for Nelson Semedo as their new right-back after their first-choice, Hector Bellerin, proved similarly unattainable. Barcelona, then, could finish this transfer window in a weaker position than they were at the start of it which will make the fight to win the title back from Real Madrid, who have improved, even more difficult. On top of all of this, Barcelona have a new coach for the upcoming season, with Luis Enrique having stepped down, ceding his place to Athletic Club's Ernesto Valverde. This is expected to be a major step up for the former Barca player, given that he has previously managed the likes of Athletic Club and Espanyol, rather than Champions League-calibre sides. Some believe that he is the calm and reassuring presence this Barcelona dressing room needs but others question if he has enough charisma to prepare this group of potential world-beaters. Tactically, it remains to be seen how Valverde will set up his Barcelona side, as his favoured 4-2-3-1 formation could be too defensive for the Camp Nou. On the other hand, the loss of Neymar could see the 4-3-3 consigned to the dustbin of history and a fusion of these two formations could end up being the most logical solution. Whatever Valverde opts for, he's in for an eventful debut year but at least he has the relentless Lionel Messi.