Now that Lionel Messi has officially left his boyhood club, Barcelona, it remains to be debated, how will the team lineup next season without their main player, and their captain? While we all knew that the Argentine wouldn’t play at the club forever and that Barca would have to prepare for his ultimate retirement, no one predicted him to leave this early. This leaves a giant hole in Barcelona’s team, and Ronald Koeman must think long and hard about his new line-up.
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The 34-year-old legend was a regular starter for the Catalans last season. Even though he was the oldest player in the squad alongside Gerard Pique, no one could displace him from the starting lineup. Barcelona played only a few games without their captain, and they did quite poorly in those matches. This shows that although the Catalans have a lot of talented stars, Messi was the one who was bringing all of them together.
Koeman already had his work cut out for him, however, after the announcement that Messi will be leaving, his workload has doubled. These are tough times at Barcelona; however, they cannot cower down due to this loss, they must embrace the future. Thus, today we will be looking at the possible lineup for the next season, presuming Koeman uses a 3-5-2 formation. The 3-5-2 or 3-1-4-2 lineup is exactly what Koeman used when he was managing the Netherlands national team which transitions into a 3-4-3, and with Frenkie de Jong and Memphis Depay set to be the stars for next season, it won’t be surprising to see him move in that direction.
We will not be looking at the 4-3-3 formation today, although that is the traditional Barca lineup, that is due to the fact that Ansu Fati and Ousmane Dembele are both injured, plus they loaned out Francisco Trincao to Wolves for the next season. Having said that, the return of both Fati and Dembele will most likely result in Koeman moving back to Barca’s traditional 4-3-3 lineup with a frontline of Fati, Depay, and Dembele with both Griezmann and Aguero filling in.
Goalkeeper – Marc-Andre ter Stegen
Barcelona’s goalkeeper for next season will remain the same as their other previous seasons. Marc-Andre ter Stegen is one of the best stoppers in the world, and there is no reason at all why the Catalans should even think about replacing him. The German will guard the goal as usual, with Neto being his substitute. There were talks about signing Gianluigi Donnarumma, as he was free, however, Paris Saint-Germain beat the Catalans to it, and thus Ter Stegen will remain in the club. The German is currently 29 years old, and he still has a lot of years left in the top level. Barcelona will not replace him unless they find someone better, and at this point, that is very unlikely.
Right Center-Back – Oscar Mingueza / Eric Garcia
The former Barcelona B star, who was forced into the first team last season due to excessive injuries in the first team squad, will retain his place in the starting lineup. Mingueza played brilliantly in the right center-back role last season, and he has shown his aerial power in front of the goal as well. Although the player is very young and could make a few mistakes next season, he has been much more consistent than Clement Lenglet, and he has the passion to make up for his lack of experience. Eric Garcia will be his competition however since Koeman has more experience in working with Mingueza, he will be given the first chance while Garcia will need to prove himself in the training field.
Left Center-Back – Ronald Araujo
One of Barcelona’s stand-out players last season was Ronald Araujo. The 22-year-old Uruguayan center-back was called into action alongside Mingueza when all the experienced center-backs were out injured. He was the first choice over Mingueza, and he started to show good signs alongside Lenglet. However, it was soon clear that Araujo was in fact better than Lenglet although he was only a B-team player before. He became a fan favorite quickly, and became a starter for Koeman. The end of the season was not kind to him, as he suffered a heavy injury that prevented him from playing some important fixtures. He has recovered now, and will take one of the three spots in the back.
Central Center-Back – Gerard Pique / Clement Lenglet
Although Pique is the oldest player in the squad right now, he is also the most experienced, and he will remain as a regular starter for the next season. The 34-year-old World Cup winner had a less than satisfactory season last year, due to his injury. However, he is ready for the next season, and he might have to take up extra responsibilities as well. With the absence of Messi, Pique will most likely have to wear the captain’s armband and command the team from the back. The Spaniard is aging, and he will be replaced in a few years. However, for now, he has a lot to offer to the team, and he can be a good influence on young players such as Garcia and Mingueza.
Right Wing-back – Sergino Dest / Emerson
The 20-year-old wing-back from Ajax was Koeman’s only signing last season. He was chosen to emulate what Jordi Alba does, but from the right side of the pitch. His advanced positions and speed made him the ideal candidate to replace former Barcelona man Nelson Semedo. The American had a tough start to the season, as he was not able to find his pace with the new club. However, he got much more comfortable by the end of the season, and he even got a few assists along with a few goals. The player is still young and has a lot of potential, thus it is unlikely that he will be replaced by Emerson Royal next season, but Koeman will definitely give Emerson his fair share of minutes to prove his worth.
Left Wing-Back – Jordi Alba / Alejandro Balde
Jordi Alba is one of the most experienced players in the club, and his contribution to the team is vital. Former coach, Quique Setien tried to replace Alba with Junior Firpo however, the youngster could not emulate what Jordi did, and he left a lot of room in the back which the opponents could exploit. Koeman understood that Firpo was not Barcelona quality, and reinstated Alba to the team. Alba’s ability to help the forwards by putting inaccurate crosses is what makes him so desirable; however, he is also very aware of his defensive duties, and he does not stray away from his position too much. Alba is very good at his position however, he is also 32 years old, and he will need to be replaced sooner or later. There were talks about signing Valencia man, Jose Gaya, however, that will not happen anytime soon. Barca B star Alejandro Balde is said to be the long-term solution but at 17 years of age, it will be a while before he takes over Alba.
Defensive Midfielder – Sergio Busquets / Nicolás González
Another all-time favorite at Camp Nou, Sergio Busquets, will be retaining his spot on the starting eleven. The Spanish midfielder was once considered the best defensive midfielder in the world, and it was almost impossible to get by him. Now at the age of 33, he no longer possesses his former abilities; however, he is a very good player, and his experience will also help the two young players alongside him. He had an amazing Euros campaign with Spain, where he captained the side to the Semi-Finals of the tournament. Spain ultimately lost to Italy in the shoot-outs, however, he is still an amazing player and an even better leader. He will definitely remain as one of the starters for Koeman.
Central Midfielder – Pedri / Riqui Puig
Probably the best player in Barcelona last season after Lionel Messi, Pedri, will absolutely be one of the main players for the club next season as well. Koeman’s best job last season was the discovery of the 18-year-old wonder-boy, Pedri. The Spanish midfielder moved to Barca from Palmas, however, no one knew just how much influence he would have until Koeman took a gamble on him. He is a passionate, determined and courageous young player, who has skills similar to Andres Iniesta. The player’s amazing vision and passing ability makes him one of the key players for Barcelona next season. He had a great Euros with Spain as well, and he was rightfully named the Young Player of the Tournament.
Central Midfielder – Frenkie de Jong / Gavi
Frenkie de Jong is a player who has greatly improved since the arrival of Ronald Koeman. The Dutch connection seems to really work as De Jong, who was struggling at Barca, managed to pull his socks up and put out some good performances again. The Dutch player was one of the most used players last season, and it is unlikely that he will be replaced by anyone this season. After the departure of Messi, De Jong will most likely be given a more free role which would allow him to stray away from his position more. This will allow him to help out the attack more, and also link up with his fellow countryman, Memphis Depay. De Jong who has mostly been doing defensive duties, has the knack to play more attacking football, and it will be good for Koeman to use his attacking abilities next season.
Striker – Memphis Depay / Martin Braithwaite
Last season the one player whom Koeman desperately wanted to bring in was Memphis Depay. The former Manchester United player had a good relationship with Koeman through their work in the Netherlands national team. However, due to financial restrictions, the Catalans could not get the transfer deal done. After Depay became a free agent this year, the deal finally went through, and Depay will surely be in the starting lineup. The player used to play as a winger; however, Koeman used him as a number nine in the Dutch team, and that is exactly how he plans on using him next season as well. Depay had a good season with Lyon last season, scoring 22 goals while providing 12 assists. Hopefully, he will be able to keep that form in the next season as well.
Striker – Sergio Aguero/ Antoine Griezmann
One of the biggest mistakes that Barcelona made last year was selling Luis Suarez. Suarez was a well-known goalscorer and a Barca legend. However, due to his age, the club decided that he was no longer fit to play in the top level of football, and let him join their rivals, Atletico Madrid. Suarez went on to score 21 goals in the league, and won the league in the process. It was one of their biggest mistakes however, they seemed to have solved that by bringing in legendary striker Sergio Aguero. The Manchester City striker is a Premier League legend, and has scored over 200 goals for them. He has also scored 100 goals for Atletico Madrid, thus he has a lot of experience playing in the La Liga as well. He will be an important player next season, and we can expect a lot of goals from him.
How do you think Barca should lineup this season?